ECB’s Lagarde: Wage Data Critical to Interest Rate Cut Decision

30 January 2024

By Isabel Teles – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Tuesday reaffirmed the importance of wage data to the ECB’s monetary policy decisions.

In an interview with CNN, Lagarde said, ‘We need all sorts of data, but one of which is critically important — it’s the data concerning wages.’

The inflation target would be reached in a timely manner, she said, but noted, ‘We are not there yet.’

She acknowledged there was a certain tension in the Governing Council between those who would prefer to take a near-term action on interest rates and those who would rather a far-term action, but said that there was a consensus about the next move being a cut, which she did not put a date on.

‘I want to get to 2%, and I want to get to that 2% sustainably so that people in the street will do their shopping and will go to the petrol station and appreciate that we are doing the job for them’, she said.

Europe should be prepared for a potential new Trump presidency, especially regarding tariffs and unexpected harsh decisions, she said.

‘If you look at what those years were when Mr Trump was president of the United States… there could be threats and there could be issues for which the Europeans should be prepared.’