Economy

Christine Lagarde warns against hasty decision on ECB rate cuts

European bank chief said that singled out salaries as ‘an increasingly important driver of inflation dynamics in the coming quarters’

Christine Lagarde, ECB president. ‘We do not have enough evidence yet to have the level of confidence that we are going to hit our medium-term 2 per cent target and that it will be sustainably there.’ Picture: Getty

Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), cautioned against rushing into interest-rate cuts as rising salaries become an ever-more significant driver of inflation.

While disinflation is set to continue gradually in 2024, Lagarde told European Union lawmakers Thursday in Brussels that risks remain and policymakers need more assurance that price gains are headed back to the 2 per cent target.

“The last thing that I would want to see is us making ...