ANKARA

The European Central Bank (ECB) will "go as far as necessary" to ensure that inflation stabilizes at the bank's 2% target over the medium term, the bank's president said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the ECB Forum in Portugal's Sintra, Christine Lagarde stressed that inflation in the euro area is "undesirably high" and will remain at elevated levels for a while.

She underlined that the bank needs to act in a determined and sustained manner in a bid to achieve its medium-term target.

Lagarde reiterated a 25 basis points rate hike intention of the bank for the September meeting.

"If the inflation outlook does not improve, we will have sufficient information to move faster. This commitment is, however, data dependent," Lagarde added.