Yannis Stournaras, a policymaker at the European Central Bank (ECB), expressed in a recent interview with the Greek newspaper Proto Thema, that the ECB might potentially reduce rates by a total of 1%, or 100 basis points, within this year. Yet, he acknowledged that there was a lack of unanimity on the matter among the members of the Euro zone’s central bank.
Stournaras asserted that, in his personal viewpoint, the possibility of four rate cuts this year, each consisting of 25 basis points, is feasible. Nevertheless, he noted that not all members of the ECB are in agreement. There are some who maintain a more conservative stance, suggesting that any reduction in rates should be executed in a more restrained manner.
On a previous occasion last week, Stournaras indicated that it appeared there was a general agreement within the ECB for a rate cut in June, and there was no necessity for the bank to stall until the US Federal Reserve made the first move to cut rates.
Reflecting its effort to curb inflation, the ECB has implemented a series of interest rate rises since summer 2022, amplifying its key rate by 4.5 percentage points, as reported by Reuters.