ECB policymakers see nominal wage growth around 5% this year, the quickest in years, and a potential headache when setting interest rates. While wages are still just catching up after a big real income drop, the 5% rate is still inconsistent with getting inflation down to 2%, so the catch up itself is expected to prolong inflation and make it more difficult for the ECB to hit its target. The bank has raised rates by 300 basis points since July and promised another 50 basis point more in March. Markets now see more than 100 basis points of hikes in subsequent meetings before the deposit rate plateaus at or just above 4%. (Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
Reuters Messaging: balazs.koranyi.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) FRANKFURT, March 7 (Reuters) - Inflation expectations
among euro zone consumers dropped in January but expectations
for wage growth continued to rise, adding to fears wage growth
will slow efforts to control prices, a European Central Bank
survey showed on Tuesday.
Overall inflation is now falling relatively quickly but
underlying price pressures are continuing to build, in part
driven by quick nominal wage growth in services, suggesting that
price growth could remain far more stubborn than the ECB now
expects.
Inflation expectations for the next 12 months eased to 4.9%
from 5.0% a month earlier while expectations three years out
fell more sharply, to 2.5% from 3%, according to median
estimates from around 14,000 consumers in six of the euro zone's
biggest economies.
Households on average expect their nominal income to rise by
1.3% in the 12 moths ahead, a modest increase considering high
price growth but that is still above the 1% seen in the December
survey.
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