The European Central Bank will continue to raise its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points “for a period of time” to combat persistent inflation in the eurozone, ECB President Christine Lagarde warned on Thursday, reports said. BFM and Agerpres.

At a press conference after the meeting of the ECB’s Governing Council, in which the euro’s guardians decided to raise the cost of credit by 50 basis points after several increases of 75 basis points, Christine Lagarde explained that the ECB is interested in developments in the future. longitude.

“Anyone who thinks this is a turning point for the ECB is wrong. We expect interest rates to rise by 50 basis points over a period of time. We still have a lot to overcome, we have to go further, and we are participating in a long-term evolution,” said Christine Lagarde.

How long this period will be will be decided by new forecasts of the ECB.

Bad news for inflation in the Eurozone

As the war in Ukraine continues, the latest forecasts by Eurosystem experts show that the recession in the Eurozone will be relatively short and shallow.

However, moderate economic growth is expected next year, which has been significantly revised downwards compared to previous forecasts.

In general, Eurosystem experts’ forecasts currently estimate economic growth in the euro area at 3.4% in 2022, 0.5% in 2023 and 1.9% in 2024.

By contrast, forecasts for eurozone inflation were revised upwards to 8.4% in 2022, before falling to 6.3% in 2023, with price growth remaining above the 2% target including 2025.

Inflation in the Eurozone decreased in November for the first time after a year and a half of stable growth.