ECB's Nagel Sees More Rate Cuts as Inflation Outlook Encouraging

• The European Central Bank has room to cut its interest rates further if inflation eases to its 2% goal this year as it expects, ECB policymaker Joachim Nagel said on Tuesday, adding the outlook for prices was "encouraging".
• The ECB is widely expected to cut rates for a fifth straight time next week after seeing inflation fall from double digits after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine to just over 2% in recent months. Nagel said incoming data, especially the latest developments on price growth, suggested the ECB was likely to achieve its target this year.
• "This would allow us on the Governing Council to lower the key interest rates further," he said in a speech as he presented the Bundesbank's annual accounts. "Overall...the outlook for prices is fairly encouraging," he added while cautioning about "persistently elevated core inflation and the undiminished strength of services inflation".

(Source: Reuters)