The head of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, has said that despite the consequences of the war in Ukraine, the eurozone was still likely to show growth in the coming year.
Rising inflation and shrinking consumer confidence would definitely leave their mark, Lagarde said on Monday, but even in the "gloomiest scenario," the ECB expected the economy to grow.
Lagarde described such a scenario as inflationary second-round effects in the form of significantly rising wages, a boycott of Russian energy and a prolonged and intensified war.
Lagarde chose not to comment directly on the ECB's monetary policy, however, though she once again emphasized the differences between the ECB's monetary policy and that of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The eurozone and the U.S. are in different economic phases, Lagarde said. In addition, Europe was more impacted by the effects of the war in Ukraine.
Last week, the Fed raised its key interest rate for the first time since 2018 and held out the prospect of further increases this year.
At its most recent interest rate meeting, the ECB decided to accelerate the tapering of its stimulus purchases, while at the same time decoupling its interest rate policy from the end of its bond purchases, thus giving itself flexibility.
The ECB faces a balancing act, as on the one hand, it has to take into account the effects of the war in Ukraine on growth while also keeping already high and potentially rising inflation in check.
