By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Primož Dolenc on Tuesday said there was no urgency for the ECB to consider further policy tightening if energy prices remained subdued.

Dolenc, who heads Banka Slovenije, told Bloomberg on the sidelines of the ECB’s annual Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal that waiting until September before deciding whether to respond again could be appropriate on the basis of currently available data.

“I do not believe there is any urgency to consider further policy tightening if oil and gas prices remain subdued”, he said. “Based on the data available today, a wait-and-see approach until September could be appropriate.”

Dolenc said uncertainty remained elevated despite hopes for a lasting end to the conflict.

“We have seen over the past few days that hostilities have resumed”, he said. “While everyone hopes for a lasting resolution, I do not believe the conflict will be resolved anytime soon. As a result, uncertainty remains elevated.”

The ECB would need more evidence that inflationary pressures were easing sustainably, Dolenc said.

Additional action by the central bank could become necessary if oil prices were to clearly exceed the assumptions of the ECB’s June projections, he said.

“A renewed policy response could become warranted if oil prices were to rise significantly above the assumptions underlying our projections in early June”, he said.