ECB’s Makhlouf: All Things Equal, Expect a Change in Interest Rates in June

16 April 2024

By Isabel Teles – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Gabriel Makhlouf on Tuesday said that unless there were unexpected shocks, the ECB’s monetary policy stance would change in June.

In an interview with CNBC on the margins of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, Makhlouf, who heads the Central Bank of Ireland, said, ‘I would expect, all things equal, that we will see a change in June, unless there’s something completely surprising and a shock that we don’t expect.’

There was now enough evidence showing that ‘the top of the ladder’ of interest rates had been reached and that it would be possible to start easing, he said.

‘[A]t our last meeting, from my perspective, we’ve got greater confidence that we can start to reduce the tightening in our monetary policy stance’, he said.

Asked about the EBC’s next steps, he said that he was open-minded.

‘I would rule out trying to predict how many more moves there may be’, he said. ‘There may be none, there may be more than one, but I think meeting-by meeting is the way to do it.’

There was still uncertainty in inflation numbers, he warned, especially in services.

‘[W]e’re still seeing enough in services inflation to make us cautious about predicting, so I would not predict how many cuts there may be at all’, he said.