The President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, has defended the bank's recent interest rate cut and dampened expectations of further cuts.
The central bank still assumes that the inflation target of two per cent in the medium term can be achieved in the coming year, Lagarde said in a joint interview with several European economic newspapers published on Monday.
Against the backdrop of the recent rise in inflation in the single currency area, however, the central bank's head also made it clear that "the battle" had not yet been won.
Last week, the ECB implemented the first interest rate cut since the strong wave of inflation in the currency area began, and lowered its key interest rates by 0.25 percentage points, despite accelerated wage growth.
Lagarde admitted that there were "some current figures that could have been better". Nevertheless, she defended the interest rate cut as appropriate.
However, she said that this does not mean interest rates are now moving downwards "in a linear fashion".
Rather, Lagarde prepared the financial markets for an interest rate turnaround with interruptions, saying there "could also be phases in which we leave interest rates unchanged."
Lagarde said the growth prospects for the eurozone have improved. She referred to the latest economic data, improved sentiment indicators and the continued robust labour market in the eurozone, and said she assumes that the economy "will pick up speed again."