(Bloomberg) -- The European Central Bank can’t fully disregard inflation dynamics and monetary policy in the US when charting its own path, Governing Council member Bostjan Vasle said. 

Even if the conditions in both economies may call for different responses, there are linkages that officials in Frankfurt will take into account, the Slovenian central-bank governor said in an interview in Washington, where he’s attending the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings.

“The economic situation in the US is at the moment different from the euro area,” Vasle said. “So, it’s a logical consequence that the reaction of monetary policy might also be different. But this divergence has limits.”

The remarks come after the ECB signaled it’s ready to cut interest rates in June and after inflation cooled to 2.4% in March. That’s a contrast to the US, where persistent price increases led Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to say this week that officials will wait longer than previously anticipated before lowering borrowing costs. 

Several policymakers have said the ECB isn’t dependent on its US counterpart and that it acts on the basis of what’s happening in the euro area. Portuguese Governing Council member Mario Centeno told Bloomberg Wednesday the Frankfurt-based central bank isn’t “looking at the US.”

But Vasle argued “there is a significant probability that the drivers behind a higher or more persistent inflation in the US will also become visible in other parts of the world and also in the euro area.” He also cited “a lot of trade and financial flows between Europe and the US.”

One concern is that a prolonged period of monetary easing in Europe with the US not acting to the same extent could dent the euro. President Christine Lagarde said earlier Wednesday that officials will watch fluctuations “very carefully,” despite not targeting a particular level.

Speaking to lawmakers on Thursday, Vice President Luis de Guindos insisted that the ECB isn’t committing to a particular rate path, while reiterating the central bank’s stance that a continuation in the downward trend in inflation should allow easing.

A first move in June appears likely, and more may follow in the months to come if the ECB’s economic projections are confirmed by reality, Vasle said. 

“If the current baseline materializes, then it’ll very soon become appropriate to lower the level of restriction and to follow that up with further steps in the second half of the year,” he said. “When we start the process of lowering interest rates, to me it would be appropriate to discuss further steps as well — related to the pace, the frequency and also the end point.”

Vasle still cautioned that any potential cuts in borrowing costs could yet be derailed. 

“One can easily imagine a scenario in which geopolitical tensions become visible in energy and other prices and then we have to take this into account,” he said.

Officials have singled out data on wage developments in the first quarter as particularly important in judging the strength of underlying inflation. While most comprehensive evidence will only become available over the coming weeks, there are reasons to be optimistic, according to Vasle. 

“The wage data for the first quarter that we’ve seen so far is relatively favorable,” he said. “If everything goes as it seems at the moment with wages, inflation will moderate and we will be in a position to be less and less restrictive throughout the year.”

(Updates with Guindos in eighth paragraph)

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