ECB’s Makhlouf: Disinflation Still Subject to Risks; Growth and Inflation Prospects Unsure

29 May 2025

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Gabriel Makhlouf on Thursday said that the outlook for euro area disinflation and growth remained uncertain.

On releasing the Annual Report and Annual Performance Statement for 2024 of the Central Bank of Ireland, which he heads, Makhlouf said, ‘Needless to say, the disinflation process remains subject to risks, and there is a very high degree of uncertainty surrounding the outlook, for both inflation and growth, in view of the geopolitical developments in the first quarter of this year.’

Since the start of the year, the three shocks in the form of trade policy, uncertainty and market turmoil had lowered expectations for global and domestic growth, he said.

‘My colleagues and I on the ECB’s Governing Council remain focussed on reducing inflation to its 2% target over the medium term’, he said. ‘The global geopolitical landscape faces significant strain and complexity, driven by competing interests, shifting alliances with different values and increasingly independent economic blocs.’