ECB ‘Very Unlikely’ to Raise Rates in 2022, Lagarde Says

Christine Lagarde, head of the European Central Bank (ECB), speaks at a press conference in Frankfurt, Germany, on Oct. 28, 2021. Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images

FRANKFURT—The European Central Bank is very unlikely to raise interest rates next year as inflation remains too low, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday, pushing back on market bets for a move as soon as next October.

With inflation running at a 13-year-high, markets are increasingly betting that the ECB will retreat from its ultra easy monetary policy and raise rates next year for the first time in over a decade.