“With inflation under control and GDP growth moderate, our model also suggests that interest rates should continue to decline gradually,” Giorgio Primiceri said in a study presented at the European Central Bank Forum in Sintra on Tuesday. The Northwestern University economist said he expected further easing after what the ECB had already started to do. The ECB could not go any further in its measures to contain inflation, otherwise there would be a “very significant” loss of output, which would complicate the “already anemic” recovery, argues Giorgio Primiceri. According to the expert, the short- and medium-term outlook for inflation and monetary policy “gives us reasons for optimism”. In the short term, a “relatively smooth” trajectory of the return to the inflation target in the euro economy is assessed. In addition to Giorgio Primiceri, Bank of Portugal (BdP) Governor Mario Centeno said he expected further interest rate cuts later this year, but stressed that the data needed to be monitored “meeting by meeting”. “I expect a few more cuts this year, but we have to monitor it meeting by meeting,” Mario Centeno defended in an interview with Bloomberg on the sidelines of the meeting. However, he does not believe that will happen at the July meeting. The eurozone’s annual inflation rate fell to 2.5% in June, less than half the 5.5% recorded in the same month in 2023. *COM LUSA