European and US central banks bracing for economic recession

The European Central Bank last week announced an interest rate hike for the second time this year, something unprecedented in the more than 20 years of its establishment. The ECB also raised inflation fears, predicting that "the economy will stagnate later this year and in the first quarter of 2023".

ECB President Christine Lagarde said there will probably be more than two and less than five rate hikes, despite her comment late last year that "there is little chance of a rate hike in 2022".

The eurozone's economy rebounded in the first half of this year, but its recovery is expected to be slow in the second half because of the recent indefinite closure of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, weak global demand, accelerated monetary tightening by the United States and strained geopolitics. So, when it says that the economy is likely to "stagnate" and more rate hikes are on the way, the ECB is hinting at a recession.