By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Gediminas Šimkus declined Friday to predict further interest rate moves one day after the ECB’s latest hike, stressing the need for caution in communicating about future decisions even as he said inflation remained too high.

“When the time comes for a decision, that's when data is collected, that's when the latest information is looked at, all forecasts are taken into account, and then a decision is made,” Šimkus, who heads the Bank of Lithuania, told Lithuania’s LRT radio.

“Therefore, after yesterday's decision, I will definitely refrain from speculating about what the European Central Bank's decisions would be in the future. Again, there are various guesses in the markets now,” he said.

Šimkus said Thursday's decision should not be interpreted as signalling the future policy path.

“The decision that has now been taken is a decision about the present, and it is not some kind of decision about the future,” he said. “What the situations of recent years have taught us is to be really responsible when communicating about what future decisions might be.”

At the same time, Šimkus said inflation was “too high” both in the euro area and Lithuania.

“The main reason for this increase in inflation is energy,” he said. “And what matters is not only the current inflation rate, but also how long inflation can remain at such a high level.”