Some ECB officials initially favoured half-point September hike

Some European Central Bank (ECB) officials preferred lifting borrowing costs by 50 basis points in September, according to an account of their most-recent policy meeting in September.

The summary, released on Thursday — three weeks before the ECB next sets interest rates — showed that decision makers ultimately joined a consensus on the three-quarter-point hike they announced amid “broad agreement” that rates were still accommodative.

Momentum is building for a repeat of the three-quarter-point rate hike officials delivered last month, with hawks publicly advocating such a step and money markets betting on it. But while that would go some way to tackling record inflation, which is nearing 10 per cent in the 19-member euro zone, it risks worsening a looming downturn in the currency bloc’s economy. — Bloomberg