European Central Bank Governing Council member and Bank of Latvia Governor Martins Kazaks said the case for additional, gradual interest-rate increases is growing as energy costs linked to the Iran War risk feeding into broader prices and wages. The ECB raised its key policy rate to 2.5% from 2.25% at its meeting on the 10th, and Kazaks said the level should not be treated as a ceiling even though it has been regarded as the upper end of the neutral-rate range. Eurozone inflation was 3.3% in August and is forecast by the ECB to reach 3.6% in the fourth quarter, while negotiated wage growth slowed to 2.44% in the second quarter from 2.56%. Kazaks did not commit to an October increase but said the ECB could proceed without urgency. Separately, Slovak central bank governor Peter Kazimir had warned that high gas and electricity costs could push euro-area inflation above projections.