FRANKFURT – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde stated Monday that the bank is expected to lift its deposit rate from negative territory by September. If inflation stabilises at 2% it could raise it even further.

Lagarde wrote in a blog posting published by the ECB that, “Based on our current outlook,” she stated.

Currently the ECB has a deposit rate of -0.5%. This means banks have to store cash at their central bank.

“If inflation stabilizes at 2% in the medium-term, then a gradual further normalization of interest rates toward the neutral rate is appropriate,” Lagarde said. She also suggested that rates could be raised if “the euro area economy was overheating.”