In an interview with Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat, Rehn, who heads the Bank of Finland, said that an interest rate hike ‘is not yet around the corner and is not even on the horizon’.
27 March 2021
Speaking during a virtual panel of a CF40, Euro50 Group and PIIE conference, Knot, who heads the Dutch National Bank, argued that ‘[n]ot every rise in yields is inconsistent with our pledge to maintain favorable financing conditions’ and that in particular, ‘a rise in nominal rates due to better growth and inflation prospects may not cause immediate worries.’
27 March 2021
In an online speech for a Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco conference, Tenreyro, according to a text of her remarks made available by the BOE, said that although the MPC clearly pursues a forward-looking inflation target, its ‘remit has also always been clear that the MPC should target inflation flexibly’, implying a need to differentiate between durable inflation increases and transient fluctuations.
26 March 2021
In an opinion piece in Politico, Rehn, who heads the Bank of Finland, noted that the U.S. Federal Reserve had determined that lower unemployment did not necessarily stoke inflation and had adopted a regime of average inflation targeting that would compensate temporarily for past undershooting. This framework ‘seems to have gained credibility’, based on longer-term inflation expectations, he said.
26 March 2021
The German Ifo business climate index rose 3.9 points to 96.6, its highest level since June 2019. Companies survey were both happier about their current situation and more optimism about the future, the institute said.
26 March 2021
In a speech for an online webinar, Saunders said with respect to the MPC’s forward guidance – namely that it ‘does not intend to tighten monetary policy at least until there is clear evidence that significant progress is being made in eliminating spare capacity and achieving the 2% inflation target sustainably’ – that the central forecast ‘might imply the conditions for tightening will be met quite soon.’
26 March 2021
In a speech at an NYU Stern Fireside Chat posted to the ECB’s website, Schnabel said that markets would have a better idea of what to expect from the ECB, enhancing efficiency gains from monetary policy, if they know which developments the ECB will see as favourable, she said.
25 March 2021
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The annual growth of bank lending in the euro area accelerated slightly in February compared to January, while the growth rate of household loans remained the same, according to data released by the European Central Bank on Thursday.
25 March 2021
In its second economic bulletin of the year, the ECB said that the near-term outlook remained subject to uncertainty, due mainly to the pandemic and the response to it, even as medium-term risks to growth had become more balanced.
25 March 2021
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member François Villeroy de Galhau said Wednesday that although the U.S. fiscal stimulus could lead to faster price increases there, there is no risk of inflationary overheating in Europe ‘on average’.
24 March 2021
The flash PMI composite output index rose 5.7 points to a 37-month high of 56.8. The services PMI activity index was up 5.1 points to a seven-month high of 50.8, while German manufacturing output registered 68.5, a 6.8-point gain on the month and the highest result since records begain in April 1996, HIS Markit said.
24 March 2021
In a conversation with economics students posted to YouTube, Lane, who is also chief economist, said that ‘once we contain the virus through vaccinations and other medical solutions, there should be a fairly strong bounce back of the economy.’
24 March 2021
The new estimates include a significant downward revision from the previous outlook for this year; in December, Banco de España’s central scenario had envisioned growth of 6.8% in 2021, 4.2% in 2022 and 1.7% in 2023.
23 March 2021
Numbers released Monday indicated a net €21.1 billion worth of pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP) purchases in the week up to March 17, with redemptions published today revealing gross purchases in the amount of €21.9 billion.
23 March 2021
In an interview with CNBC posted to the ECB’s website, Lane, who is also chief economist, indicated that the €21 billion in net PEPP purchases last week announced yesterday by the ECB ‘reflect our commitment to have a substantial increase in the pace of purchasing.’
23 March 2021
At the press conference marking the presentation of the annual report of the Austrian National Bank, which he heads, Holzmann said that PEPP purchases would depend on conditions. The increase in purchases decided on March 11 reflected the goal of ‘not permitting that a too-high increase in yields hampers the recovery’, he said.
23 March 2021
In a blog post on the website of the ECB, Lagarde said that ‘while much progress has been made and we can see light at the end of the tunnel, we cannot be complacent.’
22 March 2021
At a press conference for the annual report of the Dutch National Bank, which he heads, Knot said, ‘A full year after the pandemic broke out, we now clearly see light at the end of the tunnel’, but ‘will encounter many hurdles on the path to recovery’.
22 March 2021
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Following is the full transcript of the interview conducted by Econostream on Friday with outgoing European Central Bank Governing Council member Vitas Vasiliauskas:
22 March 2021
- PEPP’s €1.85 Trillion ‘Should Be Enough’; Recalibration ‘Not on Our Agenda’
22 March 2021