The European Central Bank may opt for an interest rate hike if the sustained rise in crude oil price raise energy costs and inflation expectations substantially, ECB Governing Council member and Bank of Latvia chief Martins Kazaks said on Thursday.
"Oil prices are higher and we are seeing that this is gradually starting to push inflation up, and if inflation expectations start to deteriorate, then the European Central Bank will be forced to raise interest rates," Kazaks said in an interview to the Latvian public broadcaster LTV.
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May 15, 2026 15:25 ET Apart from the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, the main news on the economics front this week included key price data from the U.S. and the first quarter economic growth figures from major economies. Both consumer prices and producer costs have started to reflect the effect of supply shocks due to the Middle East conflict. In Europe, GDP data was in focus, while inflation data from China dominated the news flow in Asia.