Ireland's central bank governor and hence European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member Gabriel Makhlouf spoke on Friday, ICYMI.
He emphasized the importance of a careful assessment and maintaining a measured pace of monetary policy easing, suggesting that with the end goal in sight, there’s no need to rush.
- “It is important to assess conditions carefully and pace yourself.”
- “And with the finish line in sight, we don’t need to rush to it. In my view, a prudent and cautious approach remains the right one.”
On inflation:
- mentioned that a 3% increase in service prices aligns more closely with the ECB’s 2% target for overall inflation (in October, service prices rose by 3.9% y/y)
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The background to his remarks are that the European Central Bank has its final 2024 meeting on December 12:
- markets anticipating a quarter-point rate cut
- likelihood of a larger cut has decreased following unexpectedly strong economic data for Q3
- however, growth risks persist, including potential Trump trade tariffs
