ECB's Kazaks Says Falling Inflation, Weak Economy Allow For Lowering Rates Further

(RTTNews) - Eurozone inflation rates continue to fall and growth in the single currency economy remains sluggish, thus allowing for a gradual reduction in interest rates, European Central Bank Governing Council member Martins Kazaks said on Monday.

The ECB has lowered interest rates thrice this year, the latest being the 25 basis points cut this month, and is widely expected to announce another reduction in December as policymakers grow increasingly worried over the euro area growth.

Household consumption in the euro area has so far been weaker than expected and is one of the main reasons for the sluggish economy, Kazaks, who is the chief of the Bank of Latvia, said in a blog.

"Risks to growth remain on the downside," Kazaks said. "If the recovery is delayed, this could lead to layoffs (as it becomes too expensive to keep workers), risking inflation to be driven significantly below target."

Despite this risk, the ECB continues to look for a "soft landing" without a rapid rise in unemployment and recession, Kazaks said, echoing remarks made by ECB President Christine Lagarde last week.

Kazaks said ECB rates will continue to decrease as inflation is on a sustainable path of return to the 2 percent target.

Elsewhere, the Bank of Lithuania chief Gediminas Simkus also signaled on Monday that the future direction for ECB rates is lower.

Meanwhile, the Slovakia central bank governor Peter Kazimir was hesitant to give a clear signal on easing in December, saying he wanted more evidence of an accelerating pace of disinflation.

"All options remain on the table," Kazimir said in a blog, with regard to the ECB decision in December.

LIKE.TG：汇集全球营销软件&服务，助力出海企业营销增长。提供最新的“私域营销获客”“跨境电商”“全球客服”“金融支持”“web3”等一手资讯新闻。

点击【联系客服】 🎁 免费领 1G 住宅代理IP/proxy， 即刻体验 WhatsApp、LINE、Telegram、Twitter、ZALO、Instagram、signal等获客系统，社媒账号购买 & 粉丝引流自助服务或关注【LIKE.TG出海指南频道】、【LIKE.TG生态链-全球资源互联社区】连接全球出海营销资源。