Europe's central bank head defends its recent rate hike to fight inflation

The head of the European Central Bank defended its June 11 rate hike as justified to ward off real inflationary pressures and said it wasn’t just a mere “insurance hike." ECB head Christine Lagarde said Monday that without the quarter percentage-point increase, inflation could have lingered above the bank’s 2% target into 2028. “Some have characterized our rate increase earlier this month as an ‘insurance hike,’" Lagarde said.