DUBLIN (Reuters) – The European Central Bank could raise interest rates into next year, chief economist Philip Lane told Irish broadcaster RTE on Saturday, just weeks after two hikes took the deposit rate back into positive territory.
“Over the next several meetings, which if you like might mean the last part of this year plus going into the early part of next year, we think we’re still in a phase of bringing interest rates up to what might be called a more normal level,” Lane said.
Lane added that the euro zone economy is likely to flatline over the winter months and a recession could not be ruled out given high energy prices and a shortage of natural gas.
“If you think our base case is to barely grow, a technical recession – falling into a mild recession – cannot be ruled out,” he said in an interview.
(Reporting by Conor Humphries and Padraic Halping; Writing by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Christina Fincher)
