By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel said on Thursday that raising interest rates in April was a possibility, though not guaranteed.

In an interview with Reuters, Nagel, who heads the Deutsche Bundesbank, said such a move was “certainly an option, but just one option.”

He said that by April 30, the ECB would have sufficient data to decide whether to proceed, adding that “we shouldn’t shy away from it now just because we think it’s still too early.”

Policymakers would be watching for indications that price increases were spreading beyond the energy sector and that wages were rising—both signs that inflation could be gaining momentum, he said.

“This is certainly a situation in which every passing day contributes to an increase in inflationary risks, particularly with regard to what interests us most from a monetary policy perspective: how medium-term inflation expectations will evolve,” he said.

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