European Central Bank governing council member Gabriel Makhlouf said on Wednesday that once euro zone interest rates hit their peak they will stay there a while, and questioned some market forecasts of cuts at the end of the year.

The ECB has raised rates by a combined 375 basis points in the past year in the hope of taming inflation and Makhlouf said two more small moves, in June and July, were probable.

Makhlouf said it would be a "question of judgement" whether there would be further rates hikes after the summer and he did not want to engage in speculation.

"I do think ... that once we've reached what I have described as the top of the ladder of increasing interest rates, they are likely to stay there for a while," Makhlouf told journalists.

"Again I'm not going to say how long that will be, but I know some people in markets are pricing in cuts in rates at the end of the year and I'd be interested in how they are coming to those judgements," he said. (Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Andrew Heavens)