Energiepreisanstieg "ziemlich besorgniserregend": EZB-Direktorin Schnabel warnt

Berlin, Germany – The European Central Bank's Isabel Schnabel, in her role as a director, has expressed concern over the rising energy prices, describing them as "quite alarming." She also maintained that the central bank's future monetary policy direction would be decided based on incoming data. This statement came during a recent event organized by the Federal Ministry of Economics in Berlin.

The recent surges in energy prices extend beyond crude oil to refined products such as diesel and natural gas, which have reached very high price levels. This concern was echoed by Slovak ECB member Peter Kazimir recently. The European Central Bank (ECB) increased its key interest rate to 2.50 percent on Thursday and revised upwards many of its inflation forecasts.

This has sparked speculation among markets about further interest rate hikes. Natural gas prices are currently at a four-year high, a situation attributed to European countries delaying the refilling of their gas reserves during the summer, in the hope that the Iran conflict would be resolved and prices would drop. However, as the filling levels now lag far behind the historical average, there is a rush to store gas, which is pushing prices up.

The next decision on interest rates by the ECB is anticipated at the end of October. Market speculation suggests a probability of over 60 percent for a rate increase at this point, while a rate cut by the end of the year is already widely expected. Further details: Inflation in the Eurozone has surged beyond three percent, raising concerns about a new gas price shock.