ECB hammers home message its inflation fight is not over, but markets still see spring rate cut

President Christine Lagarde told reporters she stood by remarks last week which were widely interpreted as meaning the ECB would start cutting at some time during the summer

ECB president Christine Lagarde maintained the campaign of hiking interest rates since summer 2022 was working in reining in inflation.

European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde hammered home the message that the central bank is not for cutting interest rates any time soon, but financial markets continue to bet squeezed conditions of the eurozone economy will force it to cut before the summer.  

No major economist ahead of the Frankfurt gathering of the governing council had predicted the ECB would announce a rate reduction, but the ECB has appeared to be concerned its messaging would be ignored for it to be forced to cut before it was fully confident it had secured victory over soaring prices.