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Speech by Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, at the 14th edition of Spain Investors Day
Madrid, 10 January 2024
Over the past two years, economic developments in the euro area have been shaped by the easing of pandemic-related supply constraints and by the energy price shock in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Before that, inflation had been low and monetary policy accommodative, but the surge in inflation to unprecedented levels in 2022 prompted the ECB to normalise and tighten monetary policy. In December 2021 we announced a gradual reduction in our asset portfolio and in July 2022 we increased our key interest rates for the first time in 11 years. This was followed by nine consecutive hikes that raised interest rates by a total of 450 basis points by September last year. In 2023 a lot of progress was made in curbing inflation. However, more needs to be done to ensure a timely and sustainable return of inflation to our 2% medium-term target.
In my remarks today…