Austria's ECB Council member Robert Holzmann has repeatedly spoken out in favor of up to three interest rate hikes this year in view of the high inflation.
"I think it would be appropriate to take at least two or even three steps.
These can be smaller, i.e. 0.25 percentage points each.
If that happens by December, it would have the effect that in 2023 the deposit rates for banks, which are now minus 0.5 percent, would be in positive territory," the head of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) told the "Salzburger Nachrichten". .
And further: “You are still a long way away from the natural nominal interest rate.
So there is still a long way to go.
But it would be a good signal to the public.”
America is speeding up
The ECB is not late, but it might have acted earlier, he told the newspaper.
On Wednesday, the American Federal Reserve responded to the high inflation with the largest jump in interest rates in 22 years, and wants to follow suit with further increases.
On Friday, the signals from the European Central Bank of an imminent turnaround in interest rates increased.
ECB Director Isabel Schnabel said: "As things stand today, I assume that we will be able to raise interest rates for the first time in July."
According to Bundesbank boss Joachim Nagel, hurry is required.
His French colleague Francois Villeroy de Galhau is also alarmed at the record inflation rate of 7.5 percent recently and sees the monetary authorities around ECB boss Christine Lagarde under pressure.