«Be careful not to go too far when raising interest rates»- Corriere.it

With the adjustments decided in the last year, the ECB has conducted an overall “raise of 300 points but which started from negative rates, within a year the real rate will be approximately zero: frankly, it is not something to worry about, but we must be careful not to go too far”. This was stated by the governor of the Bank of Italy Ignazio Visco on the sidelines of the meeting of finance ministers and central bankers of the G20, underway in Bangalore in India. In decisions in the Governing Council, he hopes, “we must be cautious and determined”. But – underlines Visco – “even if we have already indicated a 50-point increase for March, we have also said that we will decide in the individual meetings, on the basis of the available indications” .

Rates up 300 basis points

According to the governor Visto the global economy “has suffered a lot in the last 3-4 years, and even if in the end we have been successful we find inflation as a consequence not only of our actions but also of the invasion of Ukraine”. «What we have before us is still a better situation than we imagined last year», concludes Visco. In this regard, Visco repeats his invitation to moderation addressed to Christine Lagarde: «It must be considered that the rates of the ECB. They went up 300 basis points, but from negative levels. Adjusted for inflation, rates are now around zero so, frankly, there’s no cause for concern.”

Recession

“The recession is not inevitable,” adds the governor of the Bank of Italy, Ignazio Visco. “We were surprised that there was a better than expected performance last summer. We considered the possibility that there was a technical recession between late 2022 and early 2023 and there is no such thing,” he adds.