ECB’s Müller: ‘Quite Reasonable for Now to Keep Rates Where They Are’

1 July 2025

ECB’s Müller: ‘Quite Reasonable for Now to Keep Rates Where They Are’
Madis Müller, governor of Eesti Pank, at the European Central Bank Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal on June 27, 2023. Sérgio Garcia/ECB under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – There is no clear need for the moment to ease European Central Bank monetary policy further, ECB Governing Council member Madis Müller said Tuesday.

 

In an interview with Bloomberg in Sintra, Portugal, Müller said, ‘For the moment it’s not obvious to me that we need to go into expansionary territory.’

 

‘Growth is weak, but it’s still gradually picking up’, he continued. ‘So, it’s quite reasonable for now to keep rates where they are and to monitor further developments — also as the level of rates is low enough and not holding back the recovery.’

 

Inflation in the euro area was ‘basically at target’, he was reported as saying.

 

As for what might be appropriate at a later stage, ‘Where we are exactly in September is difficult to say today’, he said.

‘But we should at least have some more clarity when it comes to trade, perhaps also more on the fiscal plans and thereby be in a better position to make a new assessment’, he added.