Jim Power: Interest rate cuts this year seem inevitable despite cautious central bankers 

The only question really is how long it will take the ECB to admit that it tightened too much since July 2022 and that the time has come to reverse course.

ECB president Christine Lagarde. The economic arguments for lower rates are becoming more compelling and it really is just a question of when rather than whether. Picture: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg

Since last October, views have ebbed and flowed about how quickly and how aggressively central banks around the world will cut interest rates. 

Sanity has prevailed, and January and December’s euphoria has been replaced by a realisation that central bankers will be cautious about cutting rates prematurely before the battle against inflation is won.