A theme that, only in appearance, can appear technical, complicated. Reserved for professionals. But that, in reality, directly affects the life of each of us. On the price increases at the supermarket as on the sudden surges in the mortgage payment.
The governor of the Bank of Italy Ignazio Visco, interviewed by Rai News 24 at the end of the G7 Finance meeting in Japan, he returned to talking about inflation and interest rates. Of the present and, above all, of the immediate future. “At the ECB, in the seven rate hikes made since 2022, we have gone from an increase of 75 points to one of 50 and then 25. There is a downward trend with respect to size but the direction continues to be that of caution against risks of spreading inflation. In the Eurotower we all agree in saying that we act on the data available, such as inflation factors, the state of demand and also the rapidity of the decline in inflation in the medium term”.
Visco called for prudence and moderation. Because, according to the economist, the storm hasn’t ended yet. An implicit warning to northern hawks: “If there is one thing I would recommend it is to be careful how we judge the outlook and the data, since there is a very high level of uncertainty arising from factors other than the war on energy ”.
The governor of Bank of Italy also recalled how “monetary policy has no immediate effect, it needs time to spread and the transmission of the squeeze launched with the seven rate increases, in my opinion, is taking place in the expected manner. Among these is the slowdown in credit to businesses and households”.
Even with due caution, the banker begins to glimpse, on the horizon, a scenario that is finally more serene. “Europe has absorbed the financial tensions that have emerged recently without serious difficulties, the risks in the real economy – he concluded – are starting to be felt and the banks are more cautious at a European level, not just in Italy”.