Frankfurt (Germany), 18 Aug. (LaPresse) – “Looking at market valuations, I would say that inflation is likely to remain around this 3 per cent level for the rest of the year.” This was stated by the ECB’s chief economist, Philip Lane, in an interview with the Irish broadcaster RTE. “This depends very much on whether or not a solution to the crises is reached. It is therefore a truly uncertain situation,” he added. Lane explained that the trend in inflation also depends on energy prices. “We’re not at the 10 per cent we saw in 2022, but 3 per cent is still well above our 2 per cent target,” he said. The ECB’s chief economist then spoke about food inflation: “At the moment, in fact, food inflation in Europe is relatively low. In recent years we have seen sharp rises in food prices, but at the moment food inflation is relatively contained.” According to Lane, however, weather events could have an impact on prices: “These weather events, particularly El Niño, are expected to lead to further upward pressure on inflation. In fact, our calculations indicate that this will occur mainly in 2027.” “By the very nature of how food production works, there are long lead times. This will become more apparent in the summer of 2027,” he added. “We believe that food inflation will be one of the factors driving overall inflation over the coming year, just as it was in 2022,” he concluded.
ECB’s Lane: “Inflation likely to hover around 3 per cent for the rest of the year”
Frankfurt (Germany), 18 Aug. (LaPresse) – “Looking at market valuations, I would say that inflation is likely to remain around this 3 per cent level for the rest of the year.” This was stated by the ECB’s chief economist, Philip Lane, in an interview with the Irish broadcaster RTE. “This depends very much on whether or not a solution to the crises is reached. It is therefore a truly uncertain situation,” he added. Lane explained that the trend in inflation also depends on energy prices. “We’re not at the 10 per cent we saw in 2022, but 3 per cent is still well above our 2 per cent target,” he said. The ECB’s chief economist then spoke about food inflation: “At the moment, in fact, food inflation in Europe is relatively low. In recent years we have seen sharp rises in food prices, but at the moment food inflation is relatively contained.” According to Lane, however, weather events could have an impact on prices: “These weather events, particularly El Niño, are expected to lead to further upward pressure on inflation. In fact, our calculations indicate that this will occur mainly in 2027.” “By the very nature of how food production works, there are long lead times. This will become more apparent in the summer of 2027,” he added. “We believe that food inflation will be one of the factors driving overall inflation over the coming year, just as it was in 2022,” he concluded.