ECB raises rates to 22-year high

FRANKFURT, June 15 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank raised borrowing costs to their highest level in 22 years on Thursday and left the door open to more hikes, extending its fight against inflation that remains stubbornly high even as the euro zone economy flags.
The ECB increased its key interest rate - the one banks pay to park cash securely at the central bank - for the eighth consecutive time, by 25 basis points to 22 year-high of 3.5 per cent.
"The key ECB interest rates will be brought to levels sufficiently restrictive to achieve a timely return of inflation to the 2 per cent medium-term target and will be kept at those levels for as long as necessary," ECB President Christine Lagarde said at a press conference following the decision.
The central bank for the 20 countries that share the euro also said it expected inflation to stay above its 2 per cent target through 2025 and hinted once again at more rate hikes in the coming months.
It raised its 2023 and 2024 projections for "core" inflation, excluding volatile energy and food, which the ECB watches closely.
Lagarde said wage rises and companies pushing up prices to increase their profits are becoming an increasingly important driver of inflation.
"Inflation has been coming down but is projected to be too high, for too long," she said.