Engaging Headline: ECB's Makhlouf: Data Must Be Robust for a Swift Rate Cut

According to Gabriel Makhlouf, a member of the ECB Executive Board and Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, the European Central Bank should reserve significant interest rate cuts for exceptional circumstances and adopt a "cautious" approach to ensure inflation declines to 2%. Makhlouf stated, "For me to feel the need to take a jump, the data needs to be very strong. Historically, you jump when there's a major catastrophe or when the data tells you that you need to address something very quickly."

While Makhlouf agrees that it is no longer necessary for the ECB to support the economy with high interest rates, he emphasized that policymakers should remain "prudent," adding, "There are still areas of concern. I am somewhat more worried about services inflation than others."

He also cautioned against expecting central banks to solve long-standing issues that hinder economic expansion, saying, "If I have a particular concern, it is that I see little evidence of these challenges being addressed in the way that I think is needed, especially in some of the larger economies. Monetary policy is very powerful. It can do much, but it cannot do everything."