Interest rate message from ECB Vice President

The European Central Bank will cut interest rates when it is convinced that consumer price growth has returned to its target, ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos reiterated. The European Central Bank will cut interest rates when it is convinced that consumer price growth has returned to its target. “When the data we get on inflation and on headline inflation clearly show that we are approaching 2%, then there will be a change in monetary policy,” Guindos said in Spain on Wednesday. The comments came just before a week of quiet ahead of the ECB’s interest rate decisions, and most governing board members reiterated their call for patience. While most want to see a series of data releases in the coming weeks before borrowing costs are eased, the deposit rate is unlikely to be cut from the current 4% before mid-year. Lithuania’s Gediminas Simkus and Slovakia’s Peter Kazimir said June was the time to think about cutting borrowing costs. Meanwhile, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel and Latvian Martins Kazaks warned against acting too soon.