By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Martin Kocher said the central bank was ready to adjust monetary policy quickly and decisively if necessary, as the Middle East war had worsened the inflation outlook and raised the risk of longer-lasting price pressures.
1 May 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Primož Dolenc said Friday that current conditions had allowed the ECB to keep interest rates unchanged on Thursday, but that the Governing Council would re-examine the situation at coming meetings as more data became available and the course of the Middle East war became clearer.
1 May 2026
By Marta Vilar – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Thursday that Governing Council members had discussed a possible interest rate hike at the latest meeting, characterizing the general direction of policy as evident and declaring June the right moment to reassess conditions.
30 April 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde succeeded with great skill in making Thursday’s hold by the Governing Council sound hawkish and cautious at the same time. She made clear why, absent a favorable turn in the Middle East war, the next serious policy question is likely to be when the ECB tightens, not whether it still needs to.
30 April 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – As expected, the European Central Bank did not raise rates on Thursday, but it did not use the announcement of its rate decision to make the hold sound comfortable.
30 April 2026
By Marta Vilar – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank’s Governing Council on Thursday left its key interest rates unchanged, while warning that risks arising from the energy shock are increasing on both sides: inflation could rise more than expected, and economic growth could weaken further.
30 April 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank’s quiet period is intended to steady market expectations about monetary policy decisions by prohibiting communication in the seven days before a Governing Council meeting. In the current environment, it has the opposite effect, and that is just one of its drawbacks.
30 April 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank does not need to feel obliged by markets on Thursday into explicitly validating June rate hike expectations, let alone a 50bp move. But after the latest inflation expectations data and Tuesday’s market reaction, a dovish tone from ECB President Christine Lagarde would fit the moment poorly, even if sounding overly hawkish would also carry risks.
29 April 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Over the last month, the European Central Bank has laid the groundwork for a hold at this week’s Governing Council monetary policy meeting. If the three key last-minute data points—namely euro area GDP and inflation as well as the ECB’s corporate telephone survey—do not deliver a major surprise, then a unanimous hold on Thursday still looks like the most likely outcome.
28 April 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – The European Central Bank lagged markets in turning hawkish after the Middle East conflict began and is already retreating from that stance, even as investors continue to price in two rate hikes for 2026, having only recently dropped expectations of an April move. This shift is clearly reflected in Econostream’s ECB Tone Meter and we explain it in this piece.
28 April 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank’s latest Consumer Expectations Survey makes a hold by the Governing Council on Thursday a harder sell, but does not make a rate hike unavoidable.
28 April 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Eurozone consumers’ inflation expectations rose in March, including at the three-year horizon, while growth expectations worsened and expected unemployment increased, the European Central Bank said in its latest Consumer Expectations Survey, released Tuesday.
28 April 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank’s latest SAFE survey, just released, does not compel a rate hike on Thursday but does make a relaxed hold harder to justify.
27 April 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Eurozone companies reported tighter bank lending conditions and a marked rise in short-term inflation expectations in the first quarter of 2026, the European Central Bank said Monday.
27 April 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Peter Kažimír said Friday that the policy discussion had shifted markedly in recent months, with talk of a possible rate cut now replaced by debate over whether a modest increase may eventually be needed.
24 April 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – Econostream’s ECB Tone Meter continued to decline this week, building on last week’s reversal from earlier hawkish levels. The Governing Council index has now slipped back into neutral territory, sitting just below the threshold that would signal a slightly hawkish stance.
24 April 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – Following is a collection of views expressed by ECB Governing Council members on various topics of high relevance related to next week’s meeting and the further evolution of monetary policy.
24 April 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel said political attacks on central bank independence ultimately backfire, arguing that recent pressure on the Federal Reserve had triggered a flight from US assets and the dollar rather than delivering any durable policy gain.
23 April 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Wednesday said that the countries of Europe needed to join forces financially to meet the costly challenges it faces.
22 April 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel on Wednesday argued that the digital euro had become a political project aimed at strengthening Europe’s sovereignty in payments, saying the bloc could no longer afford heavy reliance on non-European providers in such a critical area.
22 April 2026