Italian bankers are challenging the rate policy pursued by the European Central Bank. “Further multiple increases would be problematic for the economy and its balances,” Antonio Patuelli, president of the Italian Banking Association, said in an interview with La Stampa paper, referring to the possible moves of the European Central Bank on interest rates. Regarding a possible recession, Patuelli adds: “It can and should be avoided by supporting development, weighing monetary policies very well and dosing the latter very carefully. It is necessary that the confidence resumed in 2021 after the pandemic and continued in 2022 does not end in the year just begun. After years of too-low inflation, the ECB is now facing the opposite: a rise in the cost of living that has far exceeded the 2% target. The Nordic countries are not used to high inflation; after Weimar, Germany has a traumatic memory of it. On the contrary, the countries of the South are more accustomed to it. Since December we have recorded the news of the dizzying collapse of gas prices, which appears above all hope and stabilized. The ECB will decide on the rates on February 2 and therefore will have the possibility to compare the forecasts with the real data.
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