LJUBLJANA (Reuters) – The European Central Bank has firmed up expectations that it will raise its benchmark interest rate in July for the first time in more than a decade to fight record-high inflation, with some policymakers even hinting on Wednesday at further hikes after the first. With ECB policymakers clamouring for a rate hike for weeks, President Christine Lagarde has finally thrown her weight behind such a move, saying the central bank was likely to end its stimulus programme early in the third quarter, followed by a rate hike that could come just “a few weeks” later. Most other major …