The European Central Bank is poised to repeat the half-point rate hike it implemented last month, said ECB officials who joined the Jackson Hole symposium last week. They also noted that an even bigger move is possible if inflation nears another record.
Executive Board member Isabelle Schnabel, the most senior ECB official present at the meeting, urged other members to "demonstrate their strong determination to quickly return inflation to the target level".
The Eurozone's consumer price data, which is due out on Wednesday, is likely to highlight the urgency. After all, estimates point to another record high of 9%, which is more than four times the 2% target.
Policymakers are persistently fighting to stabilize prices after inflation spiraled out of control this year. But their ability is limited by the growing risk of recession in Europe, as well as on the fact that they have no control over the war in Ukraine.
Rates aside, other topics covered at the Jackson Hole symposium included the depreciation of euro against dollar and the decrease of bond purchases by the ECB.Interest rates
After a larger-than-expected half-point increase that started in July, a sizeable minority on the 25-member Board of Governors is considering a 75 basis point increase on September. None of the officials indicated they would push for a larger move, citing the importance of data and forecasts that have yet to come. But new forecasts from the ECB are likely to show significant upward changes that could push 2023 inflation to more than 5%, according to people familiar with the situation.
Even some of the ECB's more cautious policymakers, such as Finland's Olli Rehn and France's Francois Villeroy de Galhau, have stressed the need for "significant" action, language thought to signal support for another 50 basis point move.
Meanwhile, Schnabel said that even if a recession hits, they have little choice but to continue the current path. Bundesbank chief Joachim Nagel also said it was too early to think about when to stop raising rates.
Inflation
There is growing concern that people may soon begin to lose confidence in the ECB's ability to control consumer prices.
The main driver of price pressure is the tension in Ukraine, particularly on its impact on energy prices. It is likely that cuts in natural gas supplies, as well as higher fossil fuel prices, will go on for a long time.
Exchange rate
EUR/USD has lost more than 12% since January, and is stuck below parity. This worsens the inflation outlook, especially since energy prices are mostly calculated in US currency. In terms of trade, euro has depreciated by about 4% this year. In two years, it sank by 20%.
While ECB officials argue that the exchange rate is not a policy goal and is only one factor in assessing the economy, some are sounding the alarm.
Excess liquidity
Years of bond purchases and generous long-term lending conditions have left more than €4 trillion ($4 trillion) of excess liquidity in the eurozone's financial system. As soon as the deposit rate rises from 0% next month, banks storing this liquidity in the ECB will begin to receive significant risk-free income. However, this will threaten the effectiveness of monetary policy, as well as cause losses to central banks in the region.
Quantitative tightening
With rate hikes continuing, the next logical step is to shrink the ECB's balance sheet. The Fed and the Bank of England have both begun to cut their bond holdings, and a debate is slowly emerging on how to solve the problem in the Euro area. Some more vehemently-minded ECB officials are ready to bring this issue up for discussion - if not in September, then certainly by the end of the year.
