The cycle of interest rate hikes by the European Central Bank may be over as inflation across the euro zone is easing faster, ECB Governing Council member Mario Centeno said on Wednesday.
"We can expect that the interest rate cycle is over at this point, and in the current situation," he told reporters in Lisbon.
He said the ECB's decision in September "shows the necessary clarity in monetary policy, stating clearly that the current level of interest rates is in line with the convergence of inflation in the medium term towards the objective" of 2%.
The ECB has raised interest rates at each of its meetings over the past ten meetings but signaled a halt in October. This indirectly heated up the discussion among policymakers on whether the monetary authority has finished raising interest rates or if further tightening is still under consideration.
Centeno warned that while the ECB's nominal interest rate may now remain stable due to declining inflation, real interest rates that directly affect companies, households and the economy are expected to rise. The following factors require the legislators to be careful in making decisions in the near future".
"Monetary policy shifts take time to see their effects and do not have the same impact on all countries at the same time," added Centeno.
