FRANKFURT, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank
may extend its streak of large interest hikes into May if core
inflation doesn't ease by then, ECB policymaker Klaas Knot said
on Wednesday.
The ECB raised interest rates by half a percentage point
last week and pencilled in a move of the same magnitude for next
month but kept options open for its following meeting in May,
with sources telling Reuters they expected a 25- or 50-
basis-point increase then.
Knot, the Dutch central bank governor and a leading policy
hawk, said the ECB should only decrease the pace of rate hikes
once it sees underlying inflation, which strips out energy and
food prices, abate.
"If underlying inflation pressures do not materially abate,
maintaining the current pace of hikes into May could well remain
warranted," he told an online event organised by MNI Market
News.
"Once we see a clear and decisive turn in underlying
inflation dynamics, I...expect us to move to smaller steps."
(Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Christina Fincher)
Messaging: francesco.canepa.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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