European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde is testifying before the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) of the European Parliament on Thursday.

Key quotes

Weakness in activity is broad-based across sectors, extending from construction and manufacturing to services.

Incoming data continue to signal subdued activity in the near term.

The ECB’s forward-looking wage tracker continues to signal strong wage pressures.

Wage agreements indicate some levelling off in the last quarter of 2023.

The current disinflationary process is expected to continue, but the governing council needs to be confident that it will lead us sustainably to our 2% target.

We will continue to follow a data-dependent approach.