The governor of the Bank of Portugal (BdP), Mário Centeno, expects further interest rate cuts later this year, but stressed that the data must be monitored “meeting by meeting”.
“I expect some more cuts this year, but we have to follow it meeting after meeting”Centeno said in statements to Bloomberg, on the sidelines of the European Central Bank Forum, which is being held in Sintra, Lisbon, until Wednesday.
Still, he does not believe this will happen at the July meeting.
The BdP governor said it is necessary to analyse the figures that are yet to be released, recalling that we are coming from a “very difficult situation”.
The former Minister of Finance also defended that There are reasons to be “moderately proud” of the trajectory of inflationas it approaches the 2% medium-term target.
For the European Central Bank (ECB), 2% is a base that allows it the flexibility to reduce interest rates in more adverse situations.
Centeno said that the success of this path is due to monetary policy, but also to workers and companies.
“The labour market is very important for the European economy these days. It is the pillar of stability,” he stressed.
At its last meeting in June, the ECB announced a 25 basis point cut in policy rates. The next meeting is scheduled for 18 July.
The ECB Forum is being held in Sintra and will run until 3 July, bringing together some of the leading figures in central banking to discuss the evolution of monetary policy.
Source: Observadora
