ECB’s Kocher: Stagflation Risk “Cannot Be Ruled Out”

European Central Bank Governing Council member Martin Kocher said that the risk of stagflation in the Eurozone could not be ruled out and that the ECB should not wait too long to raise interest rates if energy prices failed to improve quickly and clearly. Kocher, who heads the Austrian National Bank, said in an interview with Neue Zürcher Zeitung published Monday that the war in the Middle East had come at a time when economies such as Germany and Austria were recovering. "After a long phase of stagnation and in some cases recession, the economic situation had stabilized and sentiment had improved," he said. ...