LJUBLJANA (Reuters) -The European Central Financial institution is more likely to finish its bond-buying stimulus programme early within the third quarter of this yr, adopted by a fee hike that would come simply “a couple of weeks” later, ECB President Christine Lagarde stated on Wednesday.

Lagarde was cementing market expectations that the ECB will elevate its coverage fee for the primary time in over a decade in July in a bid to tame record-high euro zone inflation – the results of surging power costs spilling over to different items.

Most different main central banks have already raised borrowing prices however the ECB, which had fought too low inflation for a decade, continues to be pumping money into the monetary system by way of bond purchases.

“My expectation is that they need to be concluded early within the third quarter,” Lagarde stated at a convention within the Slovenian capital.

“The primary fee hike, knowledgeable by the ECB’s ahead steerage on the rates of interest, will happen a while after the tip of web asset purchases…(and) this might imply a interval of only some weeks.”

She was becoming a member of a rising variety of ECB policymakers calling for a July hike after inflation hit 7.5% within the euro zone final month and even measures that strip out meals and power costs rose above the ECB’s 2% goal.

“What began as a one-off shock has now change into a extra broad-based phenomenon,” ECB policymaker Bostjan Vasle stated on the identical occasion. “When the circumstances change, the coverage response should observe,” the Slovenian governor added.

ECB board member Frank Elderson additionally stated earlier on Wednesday the ECB might take into account a fee hike in July, a transfer that has additionally been advocated by Bundesbank president Joachim Nagel amongst others.

Estonian governor Madis Mueller stated the ECB’s fee on financial institution deposits, which is at present -0.5%, might rise above zero by the tip of the yr for what could be the primary time since 2014.

“Even when we go by 25 foundation level increments, we might get to a optimistic fee by the tip of the yr,” he advised Reuters in an interview.