ECB’s Lagarde: If Data Changed Significantly Versus Baseline, We'd Reassess

13 September 2024

By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Friday confirmed that the ECB would reassess its monetary policy stance if incoming data were to represent a substantial change versus the baseline scenario.

Speaking at a press conference after the Eurogroup meeting in Budapest, Lagarde said, 'We have a lot of data at projection exercises, we also receive data in between. And we look at everything. And if there is a significant change relative to our baseline, we’ll reassess.'

The direction of inflation represented a ‘good move’, according to Lagarde, who reiterated the ECB's determination to reach its target in a timely manner.

Asked about Italian Economy Minister Antonio Tajani’s criticism of monetary policymakers for not being ‘brave’ and cutting rates on Thursday by only 25bp, she responded that ‘the ECB is an independent institution, it is clearly stated in the treaties and articles that we are not subject to any political pressure’.

‘We try to stay completely away from those expressions and we really work on the basis of the mandate, which is price stability, and on the basis of the data we receive’, she said.

The global environment was uncertain, and the risk of China’s economic problems spreading to the Eurozone was ‘a factor we take into account as part of the global economic environment in which we operate’, she said.