Asked about the record Eurozone inflation print (for January) released earlier in the week, ECB President Christine Lagarde said that the ECB governing council showed unanimous concern about the impact on the public of current high inflation. In response to a question about whether a rate hike in 2022 remains highly unlikely in light of recent inflation surprises, Lagarde said that she never makes pledges without conditionalities and said that it was important to be attentive to that. She said the bank would be data-dependant and reassess the situation in March (when the ECB issues new economic forecasts) and would not rush into any decisions. She did not repeat the statement that a rate hike in 2022 is unlikely. Some might interpret this as Lagarde opening the door to a change in rate guidance in March which might validate market expectations for a rate hike in Q4 2022. 

Market Reaction

The euro has been surging in recent trade in wake of remarks from Lagarde, with EUR/USD now above 1.1350 from under 1.1300 prior to the start of her press conference.