ECB’s Kazāks: Won’t Get Much Data By July, So Might Pause

6 June 2025

ECB’s Kazāks: Won’t Get Much Data By July, So Might Pause
Mārtiņš Kazāks, governor of Latvijas Banka, announcing the Latvian central bank's forecasts on October 8, 2024. Photo by Latvijas Banka.

By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Mārtiņš Kazāks said on Friday that the ECB might pause its interest rate cuts in July given the lack of new data between now and then.

In an interview with Reuters, Kazāks, who heads Latvijas Banka, said that ‘[w]e don’t get much data between now and the July meeting so it may well be the case that we pause.’

‘But uncertainty remains very high, the political situation may change every day. So forward guidance isn’t your friend in these circumstances’, he added.

The market should not expect rates to continue to be lowered meeting after meeting from now on, he said.

If the ECB cuts further, these reductions would be small, according to Kazāks, who described the next moves as ‘fine-tuning’.

‘In terms of the rate cutting, we’ve done a lot’, he said. ‘If there are further cuts, they will be fine-tuning, unless we shift out of the baseline scenario.’

The ECB was in a ‘good place’ after it had delivered inflation at target, but it was crucial to remain at around 2%, he said.

‘The staff forecast expects inflation to remain below 2% for some time so we have to remain vigilant and see what happens in the economy’, he said.

 

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