ECB's Lane says ready to start cutting interest rates, FT reports

(Reuters) - The European Central Bank's Philip Lane said the ECB is ready to start cutting interest rates from next week, the Financial Times reported on Monday, ahead of its June 6 policy meeting.

"Barring major surprises, at this point in time there is enough in what we see to remove the top level of restriction," Lane told the FT in an interview.

Lane said ECB policymakers needed to keep rates in restrictive territory this year to ensure that inflation kept easing and did not get stuck above the bank's target, which "would be very problematic and probably quite painful to eliminate".

He said the pace at which the central bank lowered euro zone borrowing costs this year would be decided by assessing data to determine if it's safe and proportional.

The ECB has all but promised to cut interest rates on June 6 but some analysts have started trimming their expectations for further reductions after stronger-than-expected wages data.

Negotiated pay growth in the euro zone picked up slightly in the first quarter of 2024, bolstering the case for caution in cutting rates from record highs.

However, Lane said "the overall direction of wages still points to deceleration, which is essential".

"The best way to frame the debate this year is that we still need to be restrictive all year long, Lane said, adding, "But within the zone of restrictiveness we can move down somewhat."

(Reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Shri Navaratnam)

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