European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said on Thursday that she "cannot prejudge" the likelihood of the bank raising interest rates in 2022. She insisted on the importance of additional data, which will be factored into projections at the next ECB meeting in March, adding that any determination made by the central bank will be gradual.
Lagarde said that all Governing Council members were concerned about inflation numbers, which were "at very surprising levels" in January, and that there will be "more certainty" about the medium-term inflation outlook at the March meeting. She said that "we are getting much closer to target" inflation, due to medium-term drivers that are helping stabilize it, including the labor market, the broad-based inflation and the expectations that "are now heading very close to or at target."
