(Bloomberg) -- European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel said officials are keeping all their options open when it comes to the next interest-rate moves, declining to speculate whether a bigger cut may be necessary in the future.
“This discussion about 25 or maybe something different, I guess at the end this is not helpful,” the Bundesbank president told CNBC. “We are living in a very uncertain environment, so we have to wait for the new data and then we have to decide.”
He added that “we keep our flexibility in every direction,” sticking to the approach of making decisions based on incoming data.
Nagel also said:
- “I’m also convinced that we are more or less on track” on bringing inflation back to the 2% target
- “The tariff discussion — I personally see this not as a very helpful discussion. It is producing harm on both sides of the Atlantic, everywhere in the world. So we have to really look at that”
- Reiterates that he can’t exclude a slight economic contraction in Germany this year
- “We shouldn’t underestimate the adaptation capacity of the German economy, of the German industry”
- READ MORE: ECB’s Villeroy Urges Agility on Rates to Not Fall Behind Curve
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