• Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel appeared to back those expectations, anticipating “further significant interest rate steps” after March, when the ECB has already pencilled an increase worth half a percentage point.
• Banque de France governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau, a centrist, was more cautious, saying the ECB should now become “more gradual” in raising rates and wrap up by September at the latest.
• Ignazio Visco, a policy dove who heads the Bank of Italy, echoed Villeroy’s call for more gradual hikes but ventured further by saying that inflation was showing early signs of decelerating.