Economy

To cut or not to cut: ECB governors on when to slash interest rates

Officials on the bank’s governing council are backing cutting rates from June, with some leaving the door open to reductions from April

Christine Lagarde: ECB president has held firm that the lender will ‘know a lot more in June’ in regards to when it can start dialling back interest rates. Picture: Getty

Momentum is building for the June interest-rate cut that European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde flagged on Thursday.

Speaking a day after she stressed that additional data are needed before monetary easing can begin, and that “we will know a lot more in June,” policymakers echoed that prospect. A few, though, suggested a swifter move in April shouldn’t be completely ruled out.

All have an eye on euro-area wages, whose growth has been more ...