By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Madis Müller said on Monday that any future interest rate increases would be a matter for the coming years rather than the next few months or quarters.
In an interview with Estonian radio Aripaev, Müller, who heads the Eesti Pank, said that interest rates had been “in the right place” for some time, and that potential rate hikes were an issue for “a few years ahead,” not a policy move that should be expected in the coming months or quarters.
Müller, a candidate for the ECB vice presidency that will become vacant when current officeholder Luis de Guindos’ term ends on 31 May, said he would maintain the “quite cautious and perhaps conservative” stance he had consistently taken in policymaking.
The race for the ECB vice presidential role had been intense, he said, citing his colleague, Bank of Finland Governor Olli Rehn, also a candidate, as the contender in the lead.
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