ECB needs to keep interest rates ‘sustainably high’ to combat inflation, says Lagarde

The European Central Bank (ECB) must keep interest rates high to control inflation in the medium run, according to its President, Christine Lagarde, who hinted that there would be more monetary tightening. While it slowed rate hikes this month with a 25-basis-point rise, Lagarde remarked that “we still have to have sustainably high interest rates, so it’s a time when we have to really buckle up and look at this target that we have and deliver on it.” With a medium-term inflation target of 2%, the ECB is expected to implement at least one more rate increase, according to market predictions.