AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The European Central Bank could cut interest rates at least three times this year with an initial move in June, if incoming wage data continues to confirm expectations for falling inflation, Dutch central bank governor Klaas Knot said on Thursday.
“I have personally pencilled in June for a first rate cut,” ECB governing council member Knot told reporters in Amsterdam.
“Where do we take it from there? We are data dependent, so I would focus on those meetings in which we have new projections, in September and December. But if incoming data tells us we can do more, the interim meetings should also be available.”
Knot said the ECB would “gradually” remove restrictions for the euro zone economy, as it looked for proof that wage increases across the monetary union are in line with its aim of bringing inflation down to 2%.
(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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