ECB’s Panetta Says Reasonable to Think Interest Rates Will Fall

(Bloomberg) -- European Central Bank Governing Council member Fabio Panetta said it’s realistic to expect that there are further interest-rate cuts ahead.

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“It is reasonable to think that we are going toward a phase of loosening of monetary policy,” Panetta, who is also Bank of Italy governor, said on Wednesday in Rimini, Italy.

He added that inflation is slowing.

The comments are among the first from a Governing Council member during the ECB’s summer break and arrive less than a month before rates are next set. After June’s landmark cut, September’s policy meeting will determine whether officials consider inflation to be moderating sufficiently to allow a second reduction.

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