ECB converging on end-point for rate hikes

Doing enough: People walking near the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. Investors and economists have also focused on a peak in the deposit rate of between 3.25% and 3.5%, which suggests just one or two moves after the March hike and an end by mid-year. — AFP

THE European Central Bank’s (ECB) tough talk last Thursday may not have convinced investors hoping for an early end to rate hikes, but ECB policymakers largely agree on how much more is needed to tame inflation, according to six of them.

The central bank for the 20 countries that share the euro has raised interest rates by a combined three percentage points since July, the most in its history, and last Thursday promised another big move in March.