ECB to consider hiking interest ratesBloombergThe European Central Bank (ECB) would need to consider hiking interest rates as soon as next month if price pressures build further due to the Iran war, ECB Governing Council member Joachim Nagel said yesterday. EU leaders, who met on Thursday in Brussels for a summit attended by ECB President Christine Lagarde, are bracing for a years-long energy supply crunch after Iran crippled a vital Qatar gas plant. “If production capacities themselves are destroyed, there will be a much more lasting impact from this war,” French President Emmanuel Macron said. While the ECB kept rates unchanged for a sixth meeting this week, officials would be ready to raise borrowing costs on April 30 should fallout from the war push inflation too far above target, people familiar with the situation said. New ECB projections showed consumer prices would advance by 2.6 percent in the euro area this year — far more than previously thought.

Source: Taipei Times March 20, 2026 17:13 UTC