Lagarde said that the European Central Bank will raise interest rates further

Xinhua News Agency, Brussels, September 26 (Reporter Kangyi) The European Central Bank President Christina Lagarda said on the 26th that the inflation level of the euro area is still at a high level, and the European Central Bank will continue to raise interest rates to cope with inflation levels. Lagarde said that due to various factors, the economic prospects of the euro zone became more and more dim.

Lagid said at the European Parliament hearing on the same day that affected by factors such as high inflation, decline in service demand, weak global demand, and deterioration of trade conditions, the economic activities of the euro zone will slow down in the next few quarters. Economic uncertainty is still very high, and corporate and family confidence is declining. To this end, the European Central Bank has lowered the expected economic growth of the euro zone this year and next. It is expected that it will increase by 3.1%in 2022 to 0.9%in 2023 and 1.9%in 2024.

Lagarde said energy and food prices are the main promoters of inflation. As energy supply may be further blocked, the European Central Bank is expected to have an inflation rate of 8.1%in the euro zone in 2022, 5.5%in 2023, and 2.3%in 2024. In addition, the depreciation of the euro has also exacerbated inflation pressure.

As the price pressure spread to more industries, the high inflation rate in the euro area has affected all aspects of the people's lives. The latest survey shows that about two -thirds of Europeans believe that high inflation is one of the most important issues at present.

In order to cope with continuous high inflation, the European Central Bank increased key interest rates twice in July and September this year, and raised a total of 125 basis points. Ragard said that the European Central Bank is expected to raise interest rates further at several conferences in the future to curb demand and prevent inflation.

[Editor in charge: Zhao Yang]

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