European Central Bank Governing Council member Olaf Sleijpen stated that investors' bets on interest rate increases this year are justified. "Looking at market expectations, I wouldn't say they are entirely mistaken," he told CNBC on Thursday. "I consider these expectations to be reasonable." Currently, the market fully reflects expectations for two 0.25 percentage point hikes in the deposit rate, with the first increase anticipated in June. When discussing the April policy meeting, Sleijpen mentioned that the ECB still has several weeks to assess the situation in the Middle East. "We have to make a decision," he said. "I understand that the information available now will not be perfect or complete."