At the upcoming board of governors, Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), reaffirmed the watchdog’s aim to increase its prime rates.

She told a specialized committee of the European Parliament, « We intend to raise interest rates substantially higher at the next several meetings. »

The ECB’s Governing Council at its Sept. 8 meeting raised the benchmark rate for the first time ever by 75 basis points at once, to 1.25 percent from 0.5 percent a year.

A release from the watchdog reads then that at the next few meetings, the Governing Council expects to raise interest rates even more. Lagarde specified that it could be less than five meetings. The ECB is raising rates because inflation in the euro zone is too high, she explained.

source: ecb.europa.eu