ECB Governing Council member: Even if the US and Iran reach a peace agreement, it will not weaken the case for a rate hike

Odaily Planet Daily News, June 3rd. European Central Bank Governing Council member Wunsch stated that a US-Iran peace agreement reached before next week's ECB meeting will not weaken the rationale for raising interest rates. Wunsch said: "If a peace agreement is indeed reached on the eve of the meeting, it will become part of the discussion. But we cannot know whether it will be lasting or credible." He hinted at supporting a 25 basis point rate hike by the ECB. He believes that if the conflict remains unresolved, the discussions among policymakers before setting interest rates on June 11th "will be fairly easy." If a US-Iran peace agreement is reached, the discussions "might be slightly less easy. But the rationale for a rate hike likely still exists, just less strong." He said: "At some point, we cannot let the market bear everything. We need to take a stance." (FT)