ECB President Christine Lagarde told RTÉ a rate cut is very unlikely for now and that policy moves meeting by meeting. On the same day Boris Vujčić warned euro-area rate bets should not rest on one data set, citing oil and gas paths into inflation.
Christine Lagarde told RTÉ's David McCullough on 18 September that the European Central Bank would weigh the inflation outlook, underlying inflation and transmission. She said the goal remains bringing inflation to 2 per cent and that cutting rates is very unlikely at the moment. She added that mortgage payers are absolutely in policymakers' minds. The interview frames the next step as data-dependent rather than pre-announced.[1]
Lagarde said the bank is reacting to Middle East war energy costs and the risk that inflation becomes embedded. She said a central bank cannot reopen the Strait of Hormuz, drill for fossil energy or install solar panels by miracle; its job is price stability. Boris Vujčić, in a separate 18 September ECB interview, said oil feeds quickly into headline inflation through fuel prices while gas works more persistently through utility bills and producer costs. Both lines keep the shock in the data mix.[1], [2]
Vujčić said policymakers must keep everything in mind and not focus on a single set of data when judging euro-area rate bets. Lagarde's RTÉ remarks likewise stress outlook, core inflation and transmission rather than one print. She said she will leave in 2027 and, asked whether that meant October 2027, replied we will see. The two accounts share an ECB day, not one joint interview.[1], [2]
