Central bankers have outlined starkly different responses to the global surge in inflation, with senior US and UK officials signalling that interest rates are likely to rise soon in their countries despite such a policy shift remaining a distant prospect in the eurozone.
Philip Lane, the European Central Bank’s chief economist, said on Monday that the eurozone was in a “completely different” situation to other countries, adding there were “powerful reasons” for inflation to fall in the region next year. It would be “counter-productive to tighten monetary policy at the current juncture,” he added.
In contrast, US Federal Reserve vice-chair Richard Clarida said the “necessary conditions” for US interest rates to rise from their current near-zero level will be met by the end of next year should the economy progress as expected.