ECB’s Rehn: Rates Will No Longer Be Restrictive by Midsummer

14 January 2025

By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Olli Rehn said on Tuesday that monetary policy would no longer be restrictive by midsummer.

Speaking at a conference in Hong Kong, Rehn, who heads the Bank of Finland, said that ‘[i]n light of the current economic outlook and our reaction functions, I would assume that our monetary policy will leave restrictive territory in the coming months, at the latest by midsummer.’

Expressing scepticism about the effectiveness of trade barriers, Rehn said that trade flows were finding new routes to get to the same destination.

‘Tariffs between any two countries, like the US and China, may often be circumvented one way or another,’ he said.

Related articles:

• ECB’s Rehn: ‘It Makes Sense to Continue Cutting Rates’
• ECB’s Rehn: ‘Speed and Scale of the Rate Cuts Will Be Determined in Each Meeting’
• ECB’s Rehn on a 50BP Cut In December: Should Retain Room to Manoeuvre