European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said on Tuesday that it was difficult to say whether inflation had peaked in the euro zone, as consumer prices hit a record high. fueled by soaring energy costs.
Inflation in the euro zone jumped to 10% in September, after reaching 9.1% the previous month, already the highest since the European statistics office began publishing the indicator in January 1997.
Speaking at a meeting with students organized at the central bank of Cyprus, Ms Lagarde once again stressed that inflation was reaching an undesirably high level.
Has she peaked? Hard to say and I’m not going to risk it, she said.
Ms. Lagarde reiterated her determination to bring prices back within the limits set by the ECB, ie 2% inflation.
If we let inflation rise freely, we have to fight even harder to bring it down [ un niveau acceptable] and it’s painful, she noted.
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We certainly don’t have to stimulate demand any further, she added.
At its last meeting, in September, the ECB raised its key rates by 0.75 percentage point – after +0.50 point in July – and specified that it was planning further increases in order to contain inflation, an aggressive policy that fuels fears about growth.