European Central Bank (ECB) Vice President Luis de Guindos revealed to a Spanish newspaper on Saturday that the central bank’s interest rate hikes are starting to have their desired effect on the Eurozone’s economic climate.
“Monetary policy measures are starting to have an impact on financing conditions,” de Guindos stated, explaining that the rise in rates has led consumers and businesses to take out less credit. The ECB vice president added that this drop in credit demand should help to ease inflation.
De Guindos confirmed that further rate hikes should be expected this year, however, when such increases are to be implemented depends on changes in inflation and how close the ECB gets to reaching its 2% target.
While several ECB governing council members feel that further interest rate hikes are already necessary, council member Gabriel Makhlouf stated his belief that financial data will need to be assessed before any decisions can be reached. He is, however, betting on a hike of 25 basis points in July.