The European Central Bank has raised interest rates by a quarter-point to 3.5 per cent and signalled that it will increase them again in July, warning that inflation is far from vanquished.
The ECB’s decision on Thursday to increase its benchmark deposit rate to its highest level in 22 years comes as the central bank grapples with both an apparent wage-price spiral and a stagnant economy.
Christine Lagarde, ECB president, said after the meeting that rate-setters “still have ground to cover” and that they would probably tighten borrowing conditions again at the next policy meeting on July 27 unless there was a “material change” to the economic data.