inflation in the eurozone is far too high and the european central bank is expected to keep increasing interest rates to levels that bring price growth back down to the mediumterm target of 2 the banks president christine lagarde said friday the ecb has increased interest rates by 200 basis points since july in order to tame inflation which reached a recordhigh of 106 in october we expect to raise rates furtherand withdrawing accommodation may not be enough ms lagarde said in a speech at the european banking congress in frankfurt the ecb will ensure that a phase of high inflation does not feed into inflation expectations allowing toohigh inflation to become entrenched easing supplychain bottlenecks and lower wholesale energy prices add to signs of moderating price pressures ahead but economists still expect inflation in the eurozone to remain high in the coming months meanwhile risks of an upcoming economic downturn this winter have increased with policy makers expecting the eurozone to tip into recession at yearend despite the weak economic outlook the ecb will keep its focus on price growth ms lagarde said how far we need to go in raising interest rates and how fast will be determined by the inflation outlook she said