By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Chief Economist Philip Lane said Tuesday that he would favor raising interest rates in December if the evidence available at the meeting gave policymakers the same picture they have today.

“If the information set we have in December is exactly the same as the information set today, then I think it would be prudent indeed to hike,” Lane told Bloomberg Television in London.

Lane expected inflation to finish the year just above 4%. He pointed to the first quarter of next year as a period when food and core inflation were especially likely to pick up, while allowing for sizable swings in oil prices before the December meeting.

“There will be more to come in terms of peak inflation,” he said.

Lane said the ECB would “follow the data” next year. He described the economy’s resilience so far as “quite reassuring” and called for reforms to lift its modest growth rate.

“What I would like to see is the market repricing in line, not just with energy prices, but the wider macro developments,” he said.

Asked about French government bonds, Lane said investors were repricing uncertainty over the country’s public finances and that France needed to clarify how it would adjust its budget. “Where this needs to be fixed is in Paris,” he said.

“TPI is part of our toolbox, which is important,” Lane said, referring to the ECB’s Transmission Protection Instrument.

Lane said the ECB should continue to steer monetary policy chiefly through its short-term rate. He saw only a modest effect on longer-term borrowing costs from the gradual return to more normal policy settings.