Boris Vujcic is governor of the Croatian National Bank and thus a member of the European Central Bank Governing Council.
Vujcic spoke in Marrakech, Morocco, where the International Monetary Fund is holding its annual meetings.
In brief:
- too soon to declare victory over inflation
- early 2024 data will bring more clarity on wages, which will provide officials with an improved but not necessarily definitive view of consumer price inflation
- “I wouldn’t think that December is when we will be able to say mission accomplished — we have to be more patient”
- “More interesting for me will be to see how the data come in in spring of next year, when we’ll have more clarity on labor-market pressures, and particularly wage-growth developments”
Vujcic also addressed Italian debt in light of rising borrowing costs there with Meloni’s government revealing that it will only bring its fiscal deficit within European Union limits in 2026:
- “The spreads are widening, but not too much”
- “If you look at the change of budget projections, it’s something that could have been expected.”
The ECB’s Governing Council holds its final 2023 policy meetings this month and then in December: