According to a poll of economists, the ECB has lagged behind in its efforts to bring down record inflation in the eurozone and will need to act more decisively than initially thought to control prices.

Despite an unexpectedly large increase in the interest rate in July, more than two-thirds of respondents said officials were too slow to control inflation, which soared to 9.1%. Now they are expecting a bigger hike, expecting the central bank to raise interest rates by 75 basis points on September 8th. The result shows that the ECB will put aside the threat of a recession in the 19 member states of the eurozone in order to prioritize price control.

A three-quarters percentage point increase, also expected in the markets, will bring the ECB’s monetary policy in line with the Fed’s two increases of that amount. “The ECB will continue to raise interest rates at a faster pace and send a more aggressive signal,” said Swedbank economist Nerijus Makiulis. “He needs to restore his reputation and claim victory when inflation starts to come down.” A faster interest rate hike could lift the euro, which has fallen as the US central bank has raised borrowing costs. This makes imports more expensive, adding to the already high cost of living that affects the European economy.

The vast majority of analysts polled expected GDP to contract by at least two quarters, but more than half don’t think the slowdown in GDP growth will last longer. “The ECB will continue to take a tough stance on inflation despite signs of slowing growth,” said Klaus Wistensen, economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. “We continue to expect the ECB to clearly acknowledge that the economy is entering a recession but will continue to grow anyway.” Prices are expected to remain above the 2% target, which worries officials studying inflation forecasts. However, the range of forecasts is wide, which indicates the difficulty of capturing during the period of uncertainty due to the war in Ukraine. Bloomberg Economics reports that “the tone of discussions on the ECB’s decision to raise interest rates at its September 8 meeting has changed, with several members of the ECB’s board of directors pushing for an even bigger hike in September.”