ECB’s Kazaks: A rate pause wouldn’t mean stopping

European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member Martins Kazaks stated in an interview with Bloomberg on Friday that a pause in the interest rate hike cycle would not imply its termination. He further mentioned that current interest rates are restrictive.

Kazaks explained that prematurely stopping monetary policy tightening could present a larger problem compared to rate cuts. Regarding the economy, the ECB member highlighted that the labor market is a reason for concern over inflation.