(Bloomberg) -- The European Central Bank will have to react to slowing consumer-price growth, according to Governing Council member Mario Centeno.

Speaking at the Warwick Economics Summit in the UK, the Portuguese official said that “if inflation is going down and it is coming down very fast — actually faster than it went up — monetary policy ought to respond to that.”

“We will do our job in the next few months bringing stability also in this process and making sure that when interest rates need to go down, they will go down,” he said on Saturday. “That will of course maintain them in restrictive territory for quite some time to make sure that inflation is not back.”

After an unprecedented barrage of rate hikes between July 2022 and September 2023, the ECB has opened the door to loosening monetary policy this year. Officials, though, are wary of providing clear guidance on timing before they’re sure price growth is firmly on its way back to the 2% target.

Consumer-price data this week showed both headline and core gauges inching down, though less than anticipated by economists.

Still, in an interview published earlier on Saturday, Executive Board member Frank Elderson highlighted that the ECB is “making good progress” on inflation.

Centeno also highlighted that the euro area is in trouble.

“We cannot have an economy that does not grow, that’s my main concern about Europe,” he said, adding that after five quarters without growth, “the first quarter of 2024 may be the sixth. This is 1 1/2 years of stagnant economy.”

Still, there are ways to stimulate the region, the Portuguese central banker said.

“One of those needs to come from monetary policy, from these expectations that need to be materialized that at some point interest rates will be cut,” he said.

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