Latest news with #GediminasSimkus
Bloomberg
01-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
ECB's Simkus Warns of Fragile Inflation Path Due to Euro, Energy
The European Central Bank has fulfilled its inflation goal but volatility in foreign-exchange and commodities markets means the outlook for prices is murky, according to Governing Council member Gediminas Simkus. The rapid strengthening of the euro against the dollar and moves in energy prices following tensions in the Middle East could cause inflation to deviate again from the 2% target, the Lithuanian central-bank chief said Monday in an interview. The risk of undershooting is greater than overshooting, he said.
Reuters
30-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
ECB more likely to wait until year-end to cut rates, Simkus says
SINTRA, Portugal, June 30 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank may not have all the information it needs, including on the trade outlook, by September, making any interest rate cut more likely to come later in the year, ECB policymaker Gediminas Šimkus told Reuters. After cutting interest rates seven times in a row as inflation fell, the ECB has hinted at a pause at its next meeting so it can wait for the fog surrounding trade negotiations between the euro zone and the United States to clear. With these talks still unresolved, Simkus, the Lithuanian central bank governor, said a pause in July was "very likely" and signalled the ECB might be on hold for longer. "I don't know if we'll have all the information we need by September, but I remain open to every possibility," Simkus said in an interview on the sidelines of the ECB's Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal. "I believe a move, if any, is more likely towards the end of the year." Following the ECB line, Simkus said the central bank would decide "meeting by meeting" and avoid any precommitment given the "unpredictable environment". "Uncertainty hasn't receded but grown,' he said. The ECB's June projection showed inflation at the ECB's 2.0% target this year, before dipping to 1.6% the next and returning to 2.0% in 2027. Simkus said that scenario still held. "Nothing has fundamentally changed since June," Simkus said. "The September projections may be fairly similar to June's, maybe except the euro is even stronger.'
Bloomberg
12-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
ECB's Simkus Says It's Important to Take a Pause on Rates
European Central Bank Governing Council member Gediminas Simkus called for a pause in interest-rate moves, citing 'very big uncertainty' over US tariff policy. After eight reductions 'we've arrived at the neutral level — it's now important to maintain the freedom of potential decision, not to commit to one direction or another,' the Lithuanian central bank chief said in Vilnius on Thursday. 'The economic situation is very unclear — no one knows what the US decisions will be on July 9.'
Bloomberg
26-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
ECB Faces Greater Risk Inflation Will Undershoot 2%, Simkus Says
There's a growing danger that inflation will fall short of the European Central Bank's 2% target, according to Governing Council member Gediminas Simkus. The balance of risks for consumer prices is to the downside due to trade friction with the US and a stronger euro, the Lithuanian official said Monday. Borrowing costs are currently at the upper end of the range for the neutral rate, which neither stimulates nor curbs economic activity, he said.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
ECB's Simkus Sees Chance of Another Rate Cut After June
European Central Bank Governing Council member Gediminas Simkus discusses the outlook for interest rates, euro-area inflation and global trade tensions. "For me [the] June decision is quite clear," he says. "I cannot, so to say, reject the chances that there might be another cut after the June [one]." Simkus speaks to Bloomberg's Francine Lacqua in Reykjavik. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
