The assumption that the ECB will cut interest rates two more times in 2024 could prove correct if the economy develops as officials predict, according to Simkus, the governing council of the European Central Bank. "If the data develops as expected, the expectation of two more rate cuts this year is in line with my own thinking," he said in an interview. He said officials should be ready to act at any meeting, not just at the quarterly meeting where new economic forecasts are presented, and should be able to do so if they agree at other meetings that a rate cut is necessary. "I think the case for a rate cut in July no longer exists," he added.