ECB's Lane sees euro area slowdown, does not rule out technical recession

MADRID (Reuters) - The euro zone's economy is likely to experience an economic slowdown, European Central Bank's chief economist Philip Lane said on Tuesday, adding however that he did not rule out a mild, temporary and technical recession.

Lane told Spanish broadcaster TVE that the ECB should raise interest rates on a step-by-step basis. The institution raised rates by 50 basis points to zero in July.

While a similar move was expected in September until very recently, a host of policymakers have made the case for a larger hike due to the worsening inflation outlook.

(Reporting by Jesús Aguado and Emma Pinedo; editing by)