ECB's Lane: Policy transmission firmly taking hold
European Central Bank (ECB) Executive Board member Philip Lane said the recent evidence indicates that the transmission of the bank's monetary policy to broader financing conditions and the real economy is "firmly taking hold." He said the economic slowdown in the euro area is likely to continue and "the level of GDP will be considerably lower than we had previously expected," which will further contribute to the disinflation process, "while a significant portion of the tightening from our past rate hikes is still in the pipeline."
Lane said the ECB's rate hikes have now reached a level that will "make a substantial contribution to the timely return of inflation to our target" if it is maintained for a sufficiently long period of time. However, he stressed the "extended phase of uncertainty about the disinflation process" ahead, adding that the ECB will have to continue monitoring incoming data in determining the level and duration of its policy restrictivemess.