Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 19, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleECB's Santos Pereira indicates inflation at target, with rate changes depending on economic conditions. Europe needs higher growth.
LISBON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - European Central Bank policymaker Alvaro Santos Pereira said on Tuesday inflation in the euro area was expected to remain at the ECB's target level of around 2% in the coming months and any interest rate moves would depend on the state of the economy.
"Regarding whether there will be a rise or fall (in rates), that will depend on the economic conditions, on whether there will be shocks," said Santos Pereira, who became governor of the Bank of Portugal and member of the ECB Governing Council in October.
He said the European economy was more robust and showing some surprising growth, "but it is still not enough", expressing hope that fiscal packages like those in Germany could have a positive impact.
"(Europe) growing 1.4%, 1.5% should not be our goal, it should be much higher," he said, adding that Europe must become a "more dynamic, more entrepreneurial space".
(Reporting by Sergio Goncalves, writing by Andrei Khalip, editing by David Latona)
Inflation is the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services rises, eroding purchasing power. Central banks attempt to limit inflation to maintain a stable economy.
Monetary policy refers to the actions taken by a country's central bank to control the money supply and interest rates to achieve macroeconomic goals like controlling inflation and stabilizing currency.
The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central bank for the euro, responsible for monetary policy within the Eurozone, aiming to maintain price stability and oversee the euro's value.
Economic growth is an increase in the production of goods and services in an economy over a period, typically measured as the percentage increase in real GDP.
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