The ECB is already pacing far behind its peers. After cutting rates to zero at the beginning of the pandemic, the Fed has been on a rate-hiking spree since March, raising its benchmark rate in huge increments over the past few months to combat runaway inflation. Only the Bank of Japan — which on Thursday maintained its super-easy policies — hasn't budged.

It also has to deal with a high degree of uncertainty regarding energy supplies, which is making forecasting future inflation difficult.

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Russia's Gazprom resumed gas shipments along the crucial Nord Stream 1 pipeline on Thursday, easing fears that it wouldn't come back online after a period of scheduled maintenance. But it isn't operating at full capacity, and anxiety lingers that Russia could still shut off gas at some point in retaliation for Western sanctions.

Plus, Europe's third biggest economy is in the throes of a political crisis that's rattling the country's financial markets. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, an investor favorite, submitted his resignation to the president on Thursday after losing the support of several key parties in his governing coalition. That could lead to early elections.

The ECB is already pacing far behind its peers. After cutting rates to zero at the beginning of the pandemic, the Fed has been on a rate-hiking spree since March, raising its benchmark rate in huge increments over the past few months to combat runaway inflation. Only the Bank of Japan — which on Thursday maintained its super-easy policies — hasn't budged.

It also has to deal with a high degree of uncertainty regarding energy supplies, which is making forecasting future inflation difficult.

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Russia's Gazprom resumed gas shipments along the crucial Nord Stream 1 pipeline on Thursday, easing fears that it wouldn't come back online after a period of scheduled maintenance. But it isn't operating at full capacity, and anxiety lingers that Russia could still shut off gas at some point in retaliation for Western sanctions.

Plus, Europe's third biggest economy is in the throes of a political crisis that's rattling the country's financial markets. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, an investor favorite, submitted his resignation to the president on Thursday after losing the support of several key parties in his governing coalition. That could lead to early elections.