Philip Lane, the European Central Bank's (ECB) chief economist, stated on Thursday that the size and frequency of the ECB's interest rate moves will depend on inflation. He also highlighted that other increments of rate moves, aside from 25 basis points, were possible (e.g. moves of 10 or 15 basis points).
According to Lane, the key message of the ECB's February policy meeting was that risks to inflation are tilted to the upside in the near-term perspective.
The official also noted that most of the current inflation was an imported inflation shock, as there has not been a boom in domestic demand. If inflation is to stabilize around 2.0% in the medium-term, he added, this will permit a gradual normalization of monetary policy.