European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member Robert Holzmann said on Friday at a news conference that the key interest rates during the September meeting will be raised "at least" 0.25 percentage points, adding, however, that the hike could reach 0.5 percentage points as well.
Holzmann stated that "markets reacted very well to yesterday's announcement," adding that should the bank have chosen to start with "a 50 bps rate hike [in July]... it would have raised expectations of bigger rate rises afterward." Nevertheless, regarding the September increase, he stressed that "bigger" moves will be needed if inflation does not improve.
Previously, the ECB revealed that while it decided to keep the key interest rates unchanged in June, it is planning to raise them by 25 basis points in the July meeting.
