The ECB announced yesterday that it would leave its monetary policy unchanged. At the same time, the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and interest rates on margin lending and deposits will also stay the same at 0.00%, 0.25%, and -0.50%, respectively.
The ECB also confirmed its plan to stop emergency bond purchases in March.
However, many economists said that Lagarde showed a slightly hawkish tone in her press conference after the central bank's decision on monetary policy. In her opening remarks, she highlighted the further risk of higher inflation.
Lagarde said in her opening speech that inflation will remain high longer than expected.
She also noted that inflation is a concern for all members of the committee. However, she refrained from any potential timing of a rate increase, adding that they will wait for the March updated economic forecasts to determine a potential turn in monetary policy, as the ECB needs more information.
According to her, she can't judge the data ahead of time and the ECB will not rush to a decision.
Lagarde also said that rates will not rise until the Central Bank completes its asset purchases.
With regards to the economic growth, she was quite optimistic since the ECB expects strong economic growth this year, despite a slow start to the first quarter.
Some analysts believe that the rate may increase by 20 basis points in September.