Philip Lane, the chief economist of the European Central Bank, said the Bank will continue to increase interest rates next year.

Lane said in Ireland, “In the next few meetings, in the last quarter of this year and in the first quarter of next year, we will bring interest rates to what can be expressed as a more normal level.”

Expressing that they expect the Euro Zone economy to follow a flat course in the winter months, Lane also emphasized that the possibility of a recession cannot be ruled out, given the high energy prices and insufficient natural gas supply.

“If you think our baseline scenario is economic growth, the possibility of a technical recession, a moderate recession, cannot be ruled out,” Lane said.