Olli Rehn is the Finnish central bank governor and thus a member of the governing council of the European Central Bank.
From a press release issued Tuesday:
- “The rise in consumer prices in the euro area is slowing, but not to the extent desired,”
- “Inflation excluding energy and food is falling only gradually.”
Rehn said that a pullback in this core inflation is a prerequisite for pausing rate hikes
- “I can say that I consider core inflation a very important, essential yardstick in the overall judgment of monetary-policy making,”
- “Its important that core inflation is on a steady and sustained decline.”
Rehn emphasised that:
- “We will bring interest rates to levels sufficiently restrictive to achieve a timely return of inflation to the 2% medium-term target and keep them there as long as necessary”
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The July ECB meeting will bring the Bank's next rate hike: