MADRID, 29 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The vice president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Luis de Guindos, assured this Monday that the institution “does not have any type of calendar” to lower interest rates and that this decision will depend on the data and the evolution of inflation. .
“We will lower interest rates when we are convinced that inflation will converge towards our objective of 2%,” Guindos stressed in statements to RNE reported by Europa Press.
The vice president of the ECB has stated that inflation “has dropped a lot” and will continue to moderate, since “the underlying trends in inflation, which are the most permanent signs of how it will evolve in the near future, indicate a downward trend.” .
“That is good news because surely the main economic problem that we have experienced in Europe in the last two years has been a very high inflation that has greatly affected the purchasing power and above all the purchasing power of all those who have a higher income. reduced. Therefore, it is good news regarding the evolution of inflation and that sooner or later will end up being reflected in monetary policy,” he noted.
Asked if rates will be lowered towards the summer, Guindos made it clear that the ECB “does not have any type of calendar” and that “it will be dependent on the data.”
“It will depend on the evolution of inflation and I am optimistic regarding the evolution of inflation,” he insisted.
Guindos has recognized, however, that there are “risks”, such as the crisis in the Middle East and the Red Sea, which may affect transport costs, as well as the evolution of unit labor costs, linked to the evolution of wages and “with very reduced productivity in Europe”, which may lead companies to end up passing this increase in costs onto prices.
“But I still think the underlying trend is positive. We will have new economic projections that are very important for us in a couple of months and from there if we see that convergence is occurring, that will have an influence on monetary policy,” he said. added.
As explained, salaries are growing above 5%, although decelerating. “It is not the same in all countries, we must take into account that in the euro zone we are already 20 countries and surely the tensions in wages are deeper, they are more evident in the countries of the North than in the countries of the South. What that we also have to put it in a context, a context in which the labor market is performing very well in Europe,” he stressed.
Guindos has indicated that in Europe business margins have grown “much less” and that the rise in unit labor costs is being partly absorbed by business profits and is not being passed on to prices, “which is a positive development.” .
