ECB's Holzmann says crucial to phase out negative interest rates in 2022

BERLIN - European Central Bank will have to focus on gradually phasing out negative interest rates and unconventional monetary policy in 2022, the institution's policymaker Robert Holzmann said on Thursday.

Holzmann, who is also Austria's central bank chief, said inflation would peak around the turn of next year and then slowly weaken again.

The Austrian National Bank expects consumer prices harmonized with inflation data from other European Union countries (HICP) to rise 3.2% in 2022, after an increase of 2.7% this year.

At the same time, it expects HICP to rise 2.3% and 2.0% in 2023 and 2024, respectively.