ECB’s Stournaras: Four Cuts by Year’s End Reasonable; Consensus to Start Cutting in June

26 March 2024

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank Governing Council has reached a consensus to start cutting rates in June, and a total of four cuts by the end of the year would be reasonable, Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras said Tuesday.

In an interview with Greek business news portal Mononews, Stounaras, who heads the Bank of Greece, said, ‘If our forecasts are confirmed, it is certain that in June we will proceed with the first reduction in interest rates.’

‘I spoke of four cuts, which I consider reasonable, as long as inflation continues to fall’, he said. ‘Let us not forget that we depend on the evolution of inflation, but also on the rate of growth. Inflation is falling in Europe, but economic growth is also falling.’

According to Stournaras, there is ‘consensus that we will start in June.’

The ECB has ‘no reason’ to wait for the US Federal Reserve to loosen its monetary policy first, he said.