The European Central Bank will act in a "timely and measured manner" to prevent the current energy shock from turning into persistent inflation, governing council member Fabio Panetta said on Friday, Report informs via Reuters.
Panetta, the governor of the Bank of Italy, was speaking at the Italian central bank's annual assembly in Rome.
He said the forward-looking inflation picture appears to call for a "recalibration" of monetary policy by the ECB.
The bank is widely expected to raise rates at its next governing council meeting on June 10-11, with numerous policymakers signalling a need for action.
Panetta said that at the June meeting, it will be crucial to assess the extent of the pass-through from higher energy prices.
Oil and gas prices are unlikely to normalise quickly even if the Iran war is rapidly resolved, the Bank of Italy chief warned.
He said consumers' inflation expectations are rising and firms have already started planning price increases.
Nonetheless, he noted that medium-term inflation expectations on financial markets remain firmly anchored to the ECB's 2% target.