European Central Bank Governing Council member Robert Holzmann said it is too early to talk about lowering borrowing costs and such a move in 2024 is anything but certain, Bloomberg News reported today.
"Even if the ECB is past an unprecedented series of ten consecutive rate increases, there is also for the year 2024 no guarantee of rate reductions," Mr Holzmann said.
"Monetary policy normalisation is already showing its impact on slowing inflation, but it would still be premature to think about rate cuts," he added.
At its latest meeting earlier this month, the ECB pushed back against bets on imminent cuts to interest rates by reaffirming that borrowing costs would remain at record highs despite lower inflation expectations.
The euro zone's central bank left borrowing costs unchanged and did not even hint at a possible reduction at the December 14 meeting.
ECB President Christine Lagarde highlighted instead that inflation would soon rebound and price pressures remain strong.
After the December rates decision, the ECB's deposit rate stayed at a record-high of 4%. It had stood at -0.5% only in July 2022.
