Hiking interest rates alone to fight inflation would be 'extremely costly'               

"A monetary-policy tightening would not directly affect imported energy and food prices," warned ECB executive board member Fabio Panetta.

The European Central Bank in Frankfurt. While the ECB has accelerated its exit from stimulus, there remains disagreement over when to start raising rates.

Tackling record eurozone inflation through monetary policy alone would risk imposing steep costs on society, a senior ECB official has said, urging governments to share some of the burden by shielding households from soaring energy prices.

Much of the surge in inflation, which is now more than three times the ECB’s 2% target, is down to geopolitical factors beyond the influence of central bankers, executive board member Fabio Panetta said in a speech in Cassino, Italy.