(Bloomberg) -- The European Central Bank should refrain from back-to-back interest rate cuts in June and July, Governing Council member Robert Holzmann told Platow Brief in an interview.

While the hawkish Austrian official supports the initial move — as long as inflation doesn’t prove stickier than expected — he opposes the second, saying there’ll be little additional information available by mid-July with which to make a decision. 

“I don’t see any reason why we should take two steps in a row,” Holzmann told the newsletter in an interview published Tuesday.

A rate cut at the ECB’s next policy meeting in June looks increasingly assured, but there’s disagreement over what happens after that. Officials like Greece’s Yannis Stournaras worry about the weak economy and want a series of quick moves, while those like Holzmann urge caution, highlighting uncertainty and risks to the price outlook.

Belgian’s Pierre Wunsch said Monday the ECB should be mindful of the signal to investors from consecutive reductions in borrowing costs. 

Data Tuesday showed the euro-zone economy exited a mild recession at the start of the year with unexpectedly strong growth of 0.3%, though the recent retreat in inflation stalled at 2.4%.

Holzmann also said:

  • “I don’t see any automatism. Our decisions are data-dependent. If the trend continues like this, then you can imagine that there will be one or two reductions this year, but if the trend doesn’t go like this, then that’s not the case”
  • “The rise in prices for services remains high. Core inflation, adjusted for energy and food prices, has also remained higher. I also believe geopolitics is still a very dangerous factor”
  • “On average, wage increases have slowed down. However, there are still some sectors and countries where they are above the level that we consider to be bearable”
  • Read full interview here
  • READ MORE: Fed Rate-Cut Reluctance Will Limit ECB Leeway, Holzmann Says

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