By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Of the many sentiments expressed by European Central Bank Governing Council members in recent days, one from Dutch National Bank head Klaas Knot has generated reactions that underscore particularly well the difficulty the ECB could face in taking back anything it has given.
12 April 2021
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Interest rates in the euro area will eventually have to rise, European Central Bank Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras said Sunday. In an interview with Greek television station ANT1, Stournaras,...
11 April 2021
In an interview with Spanish daily El País, a copy of which was made available by the ECB, Panetta said that ‘[i]n general, it would not be prudent to bet on a rapid recovery’, given the risk of disappointment. ‘And even if we do manage to exit the pandemic soon, we will realise that there is actually more damage to the economic fabric than is currently visible.’
11 April 2021
In an interview with German daily taz, Scholz said that the €400 billion borrowed by Germany during the crisis was ‘a lot of money’, but that ‘the crisis would have cost us much more in the long run’ otherwise.
10 April 2021
In an interview with CNBC, Lagarde said that the ECB remained ‘very far away’ from price stability, so that it remained too soon to discuss tapering, given regular asset purchases would continue beyond the PEPP.
9 April 2021
In an interview with Belgian business daily l’Echo, Wunsch, who heads the National Bank of Belgium, said that Europe could rebound quickly to pre-pandemic levels of economic activity.
9 April 2021
In an interview with Bloomberg, Stournaras, who heads the Bank of Greece, said that if needed, the PEPP could in fact be extended beyond its currently planned termination date of next March.
9 April 2021
In an interview with Bloomberg, Visco, who heads Banca d’Italia, responded to a question about when the ECB could start reducing asset purchases by saying that ‘measures have to be maintained as long as necessary … perhaps a little bit postponing the exit is less worrisome than winding down too early.’
9 April 2021
In a statement made at a virtual meeting of the Development Committee of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, Visco, who heads Banca d’Italia, said that ‘[t]oday the economic outlook seems to be improving at last, thanks also to the rollout of vaccines’.
9 April 2021
Imports were up 3.6% in February compared to January. Compared to February 2020, the last period before the outbreak of the pandemic, exports this February were down a seasonally and calendar-adjusted 2.1%, while imports were up a weak 0.2%.
9 April 2021
In an interview with German weekly Der Spiegel, Schnabel said that a lasting rise of inflation towards the ECB’s price stability objective would be a welcome sign of an economic pick-up, but that this scenario doesn’t reflect the current situation.
9 April 2021
In an interview with CNBC, Rehn, who heads the Bank of Finland, said that ‘it’s of course good that we have good news, but I would not jump the gun yet’, given there is ‘still plenty of uncertainty about the speed of vaccine rollout, about the possible extent of virus mutations.’
8 April 2021
In an interview with CNBC, Knot, who heads the Dutch National Bank, said, ‘If indeed there were to be a delay in the disbursement of the Next Generation EU [NGEU] recovery fund, that would be absolutely a piece of bad news, because I do believe that fiscal policy is really at the forefront of the crisis-fighting policy response here.’
8 April 2021
According to the account, Council members broadly supported ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane’s proposal that the pace of PEPP purchases over the next quarter be ‘significantly higher’ than previously, on the grounds that financing conditions had tightened despite ‘the lack of a material improvement in the growth and inflation outlook.’
8 April 2021
In an interview with CNBC, Holzmann, who heads the Austrian National Bank, noted that the extension of the PEPP in December also involved ‘a change by changing from a volume which needs to be spent, to a volume which can be spent, and if need be, increased.’
8 April 2021
In a statement made at the meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee and posted to the ECB’s website, Lagarde said that ‘[i]mproving global demand, also spurred by sizeable US fiscal stimulus, and the progress in vaccination campaigns constitute upside risks.’
8 April 2021
Excluding bulk orders, the increase was 1.5%. Although foreign demand posted a monthly drop of 0.5%, that was more than offset by a 4.0% increase in domestic orders. The weakness in foreign orders was due to a 2.3% decline outside the euro area, while new orders from within the region rose 2.7%.
8 April 2021
In an opinion piece published in German business daily Handelsblatt, Lane, who is also chief economist, wrote that while favourable financing conditions are ‘essential’ to restoring inflation, ‘it is also crucial that fiscal support is maintained.’
7 April 2021
At the press conference following the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, Visco, who heads Banca d’Italia, urged a ‘state-contingent and data-driven approach when deciding’ about a withdrawal, which in any case should proceed in a ‘gradual and targeted way in order to minimize long-term financial stability risks.’
7 April 2021
In an interview with Reuters, Knot, who heads the Dutch National Bank, said, 'If the economy develops according to our baseline, we will see better inflation and growth from the second half onwards. In that case, it would be equally clear to me that from the third quarter onwards we can begin to gradually phase out pandemic emergency purchases and end them as foreseen in March 2022.'
7 April 2021