Christine Lagarde says ECB will probably lift growth forecasts
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Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank, has championed the creation of a digital euro © APChristine Lagarde says ECB will probably lift growth forecasts on x (opens in a new window)Christine Lagarde says ECB will probably lift growth forecasts on facebook (opens in a new window)Christine Lagarde says ECB will probably lift growth forecasts on linkedin (opens in a new window)Christine Lagarde says ECB will probably lift growth forecasts on whatsapp (opens in a new window) Save Christine Lagarde says ECB will probably lift growth forecasts on x (opens in a new window)Christine Lagarde says ECB will probably lift growth forecasts on facebook (opens in a new window)Christine Lagarde says ECB will probably lift growth forecasts on linkedin (opens in a new window)Christine Lagarde says ECB will probably lift growth forecasts on whatsapp (opens in a new window) Save Olaf Storbeck and Martin Wolf in LondonPublishedDecember 10 2025Jump to comments sectionPrint this pageUnlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has said that the central bank will probably lift its growth forecasts for the Eurozone economy when rate-setters meet next week.Pointing to the ECB’s previous upgrade to the economy’s outlook in September, Lagarde told the Financial Times in an interview that “my suspicion is we might do that again in December”.In September, the ECB raised its forecast for Eurozone GDP for 2025 to 1.2 per cent, from a projection of 0.9 per cent in June. It was the first upward revision to growth forecasts since March 2024.Speaking to the FT’s Global Boardroom conference on Thursday, Lagarde said: “The Eurozone area is resisting better than what we had anticipated back in April. “When the tariffs hit, when uncertainty grew, when war was raging, everyone thought that growth in the euro area would fall very badly, and this hasn’t been the case”The Eurozone economy has fared better than expected in the face of Donald Trump’s trade war. It notched growth of 0.2 per cent in the third quarter, surpassing economists’ forecasts, helped by increased investment in digital services.Following Lagarde’s comments on Thursday, traders modestly raised their bets on the ECB lifting interest rates by a quarter point by the end of next year, putting it at roughly 50 per cent, according to levels implied by swaps markets.In recent days, investors and traders have ratcheted up bets on rate rises from the ECB and other major central banks next year, as a mix of persistent inflation and resilient economic growth leads them to end their easing cycle. Dominic Bunning, head of G10 currency strategy at Nomura, said that the remarks from Lagarde added to a “very clear shift in tone in the past few weeks from a range of [ECB] policymakers”. This is a developing storyReuse this content (opens in new window) CommentsJump to comments sectionPromoted Content Follow the topics in this article Euro Add to myFT US dollar Add to myFT European Central Bank Add to myFT Christine Lagarde Add to myFT Olaf Storbeck Add to myFT CommentsEuropean Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has said that the central bank will probably lift its growth forecasts for the Eurozone economy when rate-setters meet next week.Pointing to the ECB’s previous upgrade to the economy’s outlook in September, Lagarde told the Financial Times in an interview that “my suspicion is we might do that again in December”.In September, the ECB raised its forecast for Eurozone GDP for 2025 to 1.2 per cent, from a projection of 0.9 per cent in June. It was the first upward revision to growth forecasts since March 2024.Speaking to the FT’s Global Boardroom conference on Thursday, Lagarde said: “The Eurozone area is resisting better than what we had anticipated back in April. “When the tariffs hit, when uncertainty grew, when war was raging, everyone thought that growth in the euro area would fall very badly, and this hasn’t been the case”The Eurozone economy has fared better than expected in the face of Donald Trump’s trade war. It notched growth of 0.2 per cent in the third quarter, surpassing economists’ forecasts, helped by increased investment in digital services.Following Lagarde’s comments on Thursday, traders modestly raised their bets on the ECB lifting interest rates by a quarter point by the end of next year, putting it at roughly 50 per cent, according to levels implied by swaps markets.In recent days, investors and traders have ratcheted up bets on rate rises from the ECB and other major central banks next year, as a mix of persistent inflation and resilient economic growth leads them to end their easing cycle. Dominic Bunning, head of G10 currency strategy at Nomura, said that the remarks from Lagarde added to a “very clear shift in tone in the past few weeks from a range of [ECB] policymakers”. This is a developing story