Eurozone inflation will 'take some time' to drop to 2%: EC chief
EUROPEAN Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday (Sep 13) that inflation in the eurozone, which remains persistently high, will not quickly fall to the European Central Bank’s (ECB) 2 per cent target.
“We know that returning to the ECB’s medium-term target will take some time,” she said during a speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
The annual rate of inflation in the eurozone reached 5.3 per cent in August, below a peak of 10.6 per cent in October last year.
The European Commission predicted inflation would fall to 2.9 per cent in 2024 in its latest forecast published on Monday.
Von der Leyen praised ECB chief Christine Lagarde and the Frankfurt-based bank, saying they were “working hard to keep inflation under control”.
All eyes are on the ECB ahead of Thursday’s meeting, with divided opinions on whether it will raise interest rates or pause its historic hiking cycle.
During her speech, von der Leyen also welcomed falling energy prices.
“The good news is that Europe has started bringing energy prices down,” she said, pointing to the price of gas now worth around 35 euros (S$51.16) per megawatt hour compared with more than 300 euros a year ago.
There had been worries the European Union would struggle following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last year after it decided to move away from relying on Russian energy imports. AFP
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