ECB’s Vasle: 50BP Hikes at Next Two Meetings Appropriate

25 January 2023

By Xavier D’Arcy – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Boštjan Vasle said on Wednesday that he is in favour of hiking the ECB’s key interest rates by 50bp at each of the next two monetary policy meetings.

In a statement released online, Banka Slovenije, which he heads, stated that Vasle 'emphasized that the intention to further raise key interest rates by 50bp in the next two sessions is an adequate response to current inflationary trends and expectations.'

The release from the Slovenian central bank also noted that policymakers have expressed their intention to raise interest rates further, which it said is ‘reflected in the financial markets, which expect a few more hikes in key ECB interest rates in the coming months.’

For the euro area economy, ‘the outlook for this year is improving’ and ‘the prospects for the beginning of this year became more favourable’ in recent months, the statement said.

High inflation would lead to tightness in the labour market and wage pressures would intensify this year, it noted.