By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel said on Friday that the ECB would maintain optionality regarding its next move and react if necessary.

In a statement, Nagel, who heads the Deutsche Bundesbank, said that at the ECB's next monetary policy meeting in July policymakers would be “keeping all our options open and are ready to respond once again, should we have to.”

He said yesterday’s interest rate hike was necessary as inflation was broadening beyond energy prices and increasingly feeding through to other goods and services.

“The supply shock triggered by the war ​in the Middle ​East is ⁠proving to be strong and persistent,” he said. “That is why we cannot simply 'look through' ​it.”

The ECB’s determination had helped keep inflation expectations anchored, he said.

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