ECB’s Villeroy: Interest Rate Cuts Might Be Discussed in 2024

1 December 2023

By Isabel Teles – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member François Villeroy de Galhau on Friday said that the ECB might discuss cutting interest rates in 2024.

In a post on LinkedIn, Villeroy, who heads the Banque de France, said, 'The question of a cut may arise when the time comes in 2024, but not now: when a treatment is effective, you have to be patient enough over its duration.'

There was no need for further rate hikes at the moment, he said: ‘[B]arring any shock, the increase in rates is now over.’

Recent data showed that disinflation was ‘even faster than expected’, particularly in services, he said.

'There may be a pause for a few months, but this supports our forecast of a return of inflation towards 2% by 2025 at the latest, barring an exogenous shock', he said.