Germany’s Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said on Wednesday that economic data for now indicates that the European Central Bank should end bond purchases soon.
Speaking on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, Nagel said he opposes any rapid rate hikes by the ECB and that he expects the first rate move to be in the third quarter of this year.
He added that it was increasingly unlikely that the ECB would be able to return inflation to its 2% target.
Nagel also said that the International Monetary Fund’s forecast for global growth may have to be lowered once more because already high inflation rates show no signs of abating.
The Fund also reduced its forecasts for the growth of the economy of America and the euro area during 2022 by 0.8% and 0.3% to 3.7% and 2.8%, respectively.