By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Martin Kocher said on Tuesday that the ECB would have to hike interest rates if reaching the inflation target of 2% in the medium term was “unattainable.”

In an interview with Austrian broadcaster ORF, Kocher, who heads the Austrian National Bank, said it was impossible to predict the inflation rate for 2026, as it would depend on the duration of the conflict in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

He said that if the war continued and the strait remained blocked, “there will be no way around an interest rate hike.”

“[I]f we believe that 2% inflation is unattainable, then an interest rate hike is necessary,” he said.

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