Reuters exclusively reports ECB’s Kazaks says July rate hike is unlikely

Reuters exclusively reported that the European Central Bank could end its stimulus program earlier than planned, but it is unlikely to raise its main interest rate in July as investors are expecting. Investors have brought forward their bets on the bank’s first rate hike in more than a decade after ECB President Christine Lagarde opened the door to such a move and acknowledged mounting inflation risks. But ECB policymaker Martins Kazaks, who is Latvia’s central bank governor, pushed back against market bets on a July move because this would imply a complete winding down, or “tapering” of the ECB’s bond purchases before that date.