ECB’s Kažimír: No Reason to Move Rates for Months, and Definitely Not This Month

8 December 2025

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Peter Kažimír on Monday said the ECB would have no reason to adjust interest rates for some months and should remain alert to certain upside risks to inflation.

Kažimír, who heads the governor of the National Bank of Slovakia, told Reuters, “I see no reason to move in the coming months. Definitely not in December, then we’ll see.”

He described the economy and price developments as broadly in line with expectations but said some recent surprises required attention.

“The labor market remains tight, growth is a bit better and wage moderation is somewhat slower than we expected,” he said, according to the agency.

Although he judged inflation risks to be broadly balanced, he argued that vigilance regarding upside risks had become more necessary.

Kažimír cautioned against overstating the disinflationary effect of the euro’s strength.

“We continue monitoring the exchange rate pass-through to goods inflation, as it may not be as strong as expected,” he said. “Firms might not entirely reflect developments in the exchange rate markets in their final prices.”

He also noted that temporary declines of headline inflation below 2% next year would not in themselves justify a policy response.

“The projected undershooting doesn’t worry me at all,” he said. “There is no need to react to small deviations, especially if they are because of energy.”

Monetary policy, he said, should avoid excess precision. “[T]rying to overengineer policy around small bumps in inflation would actually create uncertainty,” he said.