Christine Lagarde admitted that she cut interest rates in the summer

European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde acknowledged this Wednesday that key interest rates could be cut in the summer, but noted that possible decisions depend on the evolution of certain indicators.

“I would say it’s likely,” the ECB chief said in an interview with Bloomberg in Davos, Switzerland, after being asked about a possible interest rate cut but saying it would “have to be specified.” ” in this matter.

“I have to be cautious because we are also dependent on data and there is still a certain level of uncertainty and some indicators are not yet at the level we would like them to be,” added the person in charge.

Lagarde’s response came ahead of the start of the so-called silent period that precedes monetary policy meetings scheduled for January 25.

On the 11th, Lagarde noted that interest rates in the eurozone should have already peaked after increases driven by high inflation last year.

To combat high inflation, the ECB carried out an unprecedented round of monetary tightening: ten consecutive rate hikes between July 2022 and September 2023.

The pace of consumer price growth has slowed significantly since inflation reached a double-digit peak at the end of 2022, but remains above the ECB’s 2% target.

Eurozone inflation accelerated slightly in December to 2.9% from 2.4% in November, a jump that was widely expected.

At its last monetary policy meeting on December 14, the ECB kept base interest rates for the second (consecutive) time since July 21, 2022.

The ECB deposit rate remains at 4%, the highest level recorded since the introduction of the single currency in 1999, while the main refinancing rate remains at 4.5% and the rate applicable to the margin lending facility , remains at 4.75%.