Central Bank News

Exclusive: ECB Insider: Some Indicators Suggest Core Inflation Momentum Not Weakening

- ECB insider: Core inflation to remain relatively high and away from our target this year
- ECB insider: Some concerns that wage demands could pick up quickly in 1H
- ECB insider: Increasing trend of firms protecting their margins contributing to price pressures
- ECB insider: Hawks ‘not very comforted’ by assurances of lower medium-term price pressures
- ECB insider: Some hawks question medium-term inflation outlook due to 2d-rd effects, energy prices

1 March 2023

Nagel Repeats ECB Could Continue With ‘Significant’ Steps Beyond March, Calls for QT Increase

By Xavier D’Arcy – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel said on Wednesday that further significant interest rate steps might be necessary after an expected 50bp hike in March.

1 March 2023

Villeroy Sees ECB Adopting ‘More Gradual and More Pragmatic’ Pace of Hikes

By Xavier D’Arcy – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member François Villeroy de Galhau said on Wednesday that interest rate hikes would proceed at a more gradual pace after March.

1 March 2023

ECB May Have More Ground To Cover After March, Reinesch Says

By Xavier D’Arcy – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Gaston Reinesch said on Wednesday that ECB policy tightening may have more ground to cover after March.

1 March 2023

ECB Insight: Post-Finland Comments Cast Doubt on a Slowdown of the Pace of Hiking in May

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Observers of European Central Bank monetary policy would be well advised to pay heed to the comments of Governing Council members since last week’s non-monetary policy meeting, as they leave open policy option doors that under other circumstances might have now been closing.

28 February 2023

ECB Could Keep Rates Restrictive ‘For Quite a Long-Lasting Period’, Lane Says

By Xavier D’Arcy – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Executive Board member Philip Lane said on Tuesday that interest rates could remain in restrictive territory for a protracted period.

28 February 2023

BIS Says Markets Underestimating Central Banks’ Resolve in Inflation Fight

By Xavier D’Arcy – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The Bank of International Settlements warned on Monday that markets’ rate cut bets were premature, as central banks will need to keep rates higher for longer to tackle high inflation.

27 February 2023

They Said It About the Policy Outlook - Recent Comments of ECB Governing Council Members

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The following is a compendium of comments made by European Central Bank Governing Council members related to the appropriate pace of upcoming ECB monetary policy tightening. We include only comments made in 2023.

27 February 2023

Every Reason to Hike 50BP in March, After That We Will See, ECB’s Lagarde Says

By Xavier D’Arcy – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Monday that there was every reason to believe that the ECB would hike by another 50bp in March.

27 February 2023

ECB’s Vujčić: Rates Not Yet Restrictive, But About To Get There

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank key interest rates are not yet in restrictive territory, but will soon be there, Governing Council member Boris Vujčić said Monday.

27 February 2023

ECB’s Visco: We Will Be More Restrictive If Necessary

By Xavier D’Arcy – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Ignazio Visco said on Sunday that monetary policy in the Eurozone will be more restrictive if necessary.

26 February 2023

ECB’s Lagarde Warns Against Complacency on ‘Unacceptably High’ Inflation

By Xavier D’Arcy – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned on Saturday against complacency in the wake of good news about the Eurozone economy.

25 February 2023

Exclusive: ECB Insider: March Forecast Revision Unlikely To Be as Big as Market Thinks

- ECB insider: Updated forecasts will maintain view of more persistent inflation dynamics
- ECB insider: Don’t expect any material change in core inflation dynamics in 2023
- ECB insider: Not seeing much inflation from the end of China’s zero-Covid policy

24 February 2023

Further Significant Hikes May Be Necessary To Contain Sticky Core Inflation, Nagel Says

By Xavier D’Arcy – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel said on Friday that core inflation looked set to remain high for a prolonged period of time in the euro area, potentially necessitating further significant interest rate hikes.

24 February 2023

Rapid Rate Hikes Leave ECB Facing Losses as Interest Costs Rose and Asset Values Fell in 2022

By Xavier D’Arcy – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank announced on Thursday that it incurred losses of over €1.6 billion in 2022, a deficit it had to compensate for using funds from its provision for financial risks.

23 February 2023

KfW Does Not Currently See Issuance Increase in 2023; Plans to Issue New 10Y EUR Soon, Perhaps in Q1

- KfW: Cost benefits of issuing US dollar bonds ‘not that obvious anymore’
- KfW: Optimistic that in Q2, ‘we'll find a good window’ to issue US dollar-denominated bonds
- KfW: Aim to reach average maturity of five to six years; don't plan many long-term fundings

23 February 2023

ECB Not Obliged to Hike at Every Meeting Until September, Villeroy Says

By Xavier D’Arcy – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member François Villeroy de Galhau said on Wednesday that the ECB was not necessarily going to raise rates at each one of its five monetary policy meetings between now and September, by which month he expects rate hikes to end.

22 February 2023

ECB Insight: Monetary Policy Very Much on the Mind in Northern Finland