Francois Villeroy de Gallo, a member of the Board of Governors of the European Central Bank and the head of the Bank of France, said that the regulator intends to continue raising rates at a rate of 50 basis points. Today, many experts are changing their forecasts regarding the pace of rate hikes by the European Central Bank against the background of signals of weakening inflation and lower energy prices. However, De Gallo believes that it is too early to make forecasts for the March meeting. «The ECB has made it very clear that we are still making decisions from meeting to meeting, depending on the incoming statistical data. Lagarde noted in December that we should expect a further rise in rates at a rate of 50 bps. These words are relevant today,» the head of the French Central Bank said. In total, the ECB raised key rates by 250 bps over the past year. Experts expect an increase in the deposit rate to 3.25% from the current level of 2%. It is predicted that the peak of the rate hike cycle will be in the summer of this year, after which the regulator will make a long pause. De Gallo also noted that the ECB will soon have more tools to fight inflation. In particular, in March, the Central Bank intends to begin reducing the portfolio of assets acquired by it under the quantitative easing Asset Purchase Program (APP).
