By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel signaled that the ECB need not rush into another rate hike after June’s move, saying the decision had put policy at an appropriate level and that caution was warranted amid high uncertainty.

Nagel, who heads Germany’s Bundesbank, said in comments distributed by the Bundesbank ahead of the ECB’s upcoming Governing Council meeting that “the rate hike in June was right – also from today’s perspective.”

The June move had been “appropriate for a wide range of scenarios, for a rapid de-escalation as well as for a continuation of the conflict,” he said.

“With the June decision, we are therefore at an appropriate policy rate level,” Nagel said.

The past few weeks had been marked by “hopes and disappointments” from a geopolitical perspective, he said.

“The renewed flare-up of the military conflict in the Middle East and the renewed rise in the oil price underline that the situation remains extremely volatile and uncertainty correspondingly high,” he said.

From a monetary policy perspective, it remained advisable “to react cautiously, but, if necessary, to act decisively,” he said.

The Governing Council would take all relevant data into account in its decision, Nagel said.

Energy prices in particular were “a decisive factor” for the inflation picture that would emerge, he said.

“Monetary policy will maintain its vigilant stance,” he said.