MNI BRIEF: ECB Triple Lock For Rate FG Still Key - De Guindos

Euro area inflation is likely to remain elevated for longer than previously expected before falling over the course of 2022, ECB vice president Luis de Guindos said in a speech Thursday, with upside risks to the outlook. The Governing Council needs more than ever to maintain flexibility and optionality in the conduct of monetary policy, he added, while reiterating that it remains committed to the ‘triple-lock’ set of conditions set out in forward guidance according to which interest rates can be raised.

Earlier Thursday, the European Commission said it expected inflation to average 3.5% over 2022, before falling to 1.7% in 2023.

De Guindos called for European Stability and Growth Pact rules to be made simpler, more transparent and more predictable, with a greater focus on an expenditure-based rule, and for a reform of the debt rule that would allow public debt adjustments to be made in a realistic, gradual and sustained manner.