(Bloomberg) -- European Central Bank Governing Council member Francois Villeroy de Galhau said the resilience of the continent’s economy in the face of the energy crisis makes ramping up interest rates less complicated.
“The good resistance of the economy today gives us the means to raise rates in a pragmatic, reasonable way, and therefore to beat inflation,” Villeroy told French TV channel BFM Business on Tuesday evening.
The Bank of France chief reiterated that borrowing costs must continue to rise, with the fight against inflation that only recently retreated from double digits not over yet.
Hope is building that the 20-member euro zone could dodge a recession after stronger-than-expected data last week from its largest member, Germany.
Mario Centeno, a colleague of Villeroy at the ECB, told the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier Tuesday that Europe’s economy is doing surprisingly well, and that the battle with inflation will continue.
“We should still have slightly positive growth for France,” Villeroy said. “So the priority is really beat this inflationary threat and things have got going well.”
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