By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel said on Friday that inflation had picked up again and that the ECB would “act decisively” if necessary to keep inflation expectations anchored at its 2% target.

Nagel, who heads the Deutsche Bundesbank, told Bloomberg that inflation had risen recently and could increase further in the coming weeks, with higher energy prices a significant contributing factor.

“Medium-term inflation expectations must remain firmly anchored at our inflation target of 2%,” he said. “The Governing Council will therefore continue to monitor price developments closely and act decisively if necessary.”

Nagel said the ECB’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged in October had not been an “easy” one, given the recent increase in inflation.

“On the positive side, no significant second-round effects have been observed so far,” he said.

However, keeping inflation expectations anchored was “crucial” to ensuring that this remained the case, he said.

“This is also a key message of yesterday’s interest rate decision,” he added.