ECB's Stournaras says further interest rate rise in September 'looks difficult'

ATHENS (Reuters) - A further rise in euro zone interest rates in September looked "difficult", Greek central bank chief Yannis Stournaras said in an interview with a Greek news website released on Friday.

"It looks like we are very close to the end of interest rate rises," Stournaras, considered a dove on the ECB's 26-member Governing Council, told capital.gr.

"In any case, if there is one further (rise)- I see it difficult - in September, I believe we will stop there."

The European Central Bank raised interest rates for the ninth consecutive time on Thursday, but raised the possibility of a pause in September as inflation pressures show tentative signs of easing and recession worries mount.

Some policymakers currently favour a pause in September, expecting the euro zone to be heading into a recession, while others would prefer to raise borrowing costs again.

Stournaras said that rates were expected to remain at elevated levels for a few more months, depending on the course of the economy and inflation dynamics in the euro zone.

(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Sharon Singleton)

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