Lagarde: “The ECB will raise rates again in July”. Tajani: “So we’re going into a recession”. Salvini attacks

“The overall impact of the 400 basis point rate hikes decided since last July has not yet fully materialised. But our work is not done yet. Barring a material change in the inflation outlook, we will continue to raise rates in July“. This was stated by the president of the ECB, Christine Lagarde, in her speech on the occasion of the ECB Forum on Central Banking 2023 on the theme “Macroeconomic stabilization in a context of volatile inflation”, in Sintra, Portugal.

And these words immediately provoked a reaction from the Italian government. Antonio Tajani, Deputy Prime Minister of Forza Italia: “I don’t think it’s going in the direction of growth to continue raising interest rates, above all I don’t agree with the announcements made well in advance as Lagarde did today. We suffer from inflation that is different from the USA, it is caused by the cost of raw materials due to the war, today increasing the cost of money means putting businesses in difficulty. With interest rates that are too high, you risk a recession”.

Against the number one of the ECB also Matteo Salvini, deputy prime minister of the League: “The European Central Bank, against the evidence of its own studies and common sense, announces its intention to raise rates again, heavily affecting families and businesses and not favoring growth The one Christine Lagarde announced is a senseless and harmful choice, also because the inflation was caused by energy prices. Does Lagarde have a variable-rate mortgage? Do you know how much the installments are increasing? Who needs these decisions absurd?”.