ECB, dramatic meeting for Lagarde between inflation and Omicron variant

BERLIN – The ECB faces a dramatic meeting today. The peak ofinflation in the eurozone in November (4.9%) and the deadly acceleration of infections due to the Omicron variant have turned into a pincer movement that will force the guardians of the euro today to very delicate tightrope walking. On the one hand Christine Lagarde and eurozone central bankers are grappling with price developments that would require monetary tightening; on the other hand, an abandonment of the extraordinary measures and a horizon of return to higher interest rates would risk strangling the fragile recovery underway.