Feb 7 Reuters The European Central Bank must be patient with cutting interest rates as inflation could flare up again and recent data confirm fears that the 39;last mile39; of getting price growth down will be the hardest, ECB board member Isabel Schnabel told the Financial Times.

The ECB has been holding interest rates at record highs since September but the debate over policy easing is intensifying and markets see the bank starting to reverse course this spring given weak growth and fading price pressures.

But Schnabel cautioned against cutting too soon, arguing that past rate hikes have already made their peak impact and some worrying signs remain as a new, 39;critical39; phase of disinflation begins.

Sellingprice expectations in services, they have gone up for several months in a row, the FT reported her as saying on Wednesday. We see sticky services inflation. We see a resilient labour market. At the same time we see a notable loosening of financial conditions.

Resurgent inflation is not the ECB39;s main scenario but concerning data caution against easing policy too soon, especially as disruptions of shipping in the Red Sea have sparked concerns over fresh supply chain disruptions.

I would argue that we are now entering a critical phase where the calibration and transmission of monetary policy become especially important because it is all about containing the secondround effects, Schnabel said.

While conservatives or hawks in central bankspeak have argued…