By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank’s June rate hike was necessary even if a milder inflation scenario now materializes, but the Governing Council is not pre-committed to any future path, ECB Governing Council member Martin Kocher said Wednesday.
1 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – SINTRA, Portugal (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Mārtiņš Kazāks said on Wednesday that the ECB was under no pressure to act urgently or deliver repeated interest rate hikes in the current environment.
1 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – SINTRA, Portugal – European Central Bank Governing Council member Alexander Demarco said on Wednesday that policymakers should not rush into further monetary tightening, citing the sharp decline in oil prices.
1 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – SINTRA, Portugal (Econostream) – Following is a transcript of the interview conducted by Econostream on 30 June 2026 with Pierre Wunsch, Governor of the National Bank of Belgium and member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank.
1 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – SINTRA, Portugal (Econostream) – Arguments supporting additional monetary policy tightening in the euro area are visibly fading, according to European Central Bank Governing Council member Pierre Wunsch.
1 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Olli Rehn on Tuesday declined to say whether he would support another rate hike in July, saying the ECB should not “jump the gun” and that inflation expectations remained anchored.
30 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Primož Dolenc on Tuesday said there was no urgency for the ECB to consider further policy tightening if energy prices remained subdued.
30 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Olaf Sleijpen said Tuesday that the ECB had yet to learn how much inflationary pressure might still be on its way.
30 June 2026
By Marta Vilar – SINTRA, Portugal (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Pierre Wunsch said on Tuesday that the ECB should move quickly if policymakers conclude another interest rate increase is needed, adding that this did not imply a move in July.
30 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel on Tuesday said that euro area inflation would remain high for the moment, but he declined to endorse the need for more monetary policy tightening.
30 June 2026
By Marta Vilar – SINTRA, Portugal (Econostream) – European Central Bank Chief Economist Philip Lane said on Tuesday that second-round inflation effects would “probably take some time” to materialize, meaning the ECB should first focus on indirect effects and how recent energy price increases feed through into food and services inflation.
30 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde’s opening speech in Sintra was dovish, but not because she questioned the Governing Council’s June 11 rate hike – that she did not.
30 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Primož Dolenc said Tuesday that a more benign energy price environment could ease pressure on the ECB to raise interest rates again and allow policymakers to wait until September before deciding on the appropriate policy stance.
30 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Monday rejected the idea that the Governing Council’s June rate increase was an “insurance hike”, saying the move was based on the inflation outlook and justified across all scenarios considered.
29 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – With the notable exception of our interview today with European Central Bank Governing Council member Mārtiņš Kazāks, markets and the ECB have been sending somewhat different messages recently. While investors now see the next Governing Council meeting as very unlikely to bring any policy change, public rhetoric from some of those involved in the decision has not moved nearly as far.
29 June 2026
By David Barwick - FRANKFURT (Econostream) - Following is a transcript of the interview conducted by Econostream on 26 June 2026 with Mārtiņš Kazāks, Governor of Latvijas Banka and member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank:
29 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank can afford to wait before deciding whether further monetary policy tightening is needed, with recent developments having sharply reduced the probability of negative scenarios and removed any need to rush into another move, ECB Governing Council member Mārtiņš Kazāks said.
29 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Bank for International Settlements General Manager Pablo Hernández de Cos on Thursday said central banks should remain focused on price stability and ready to act if inflation expectations show signs of de-anchoring, while noting that the monetary policy response to the Middle East energy shock depended on its magnitude.
28 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel on Saturday presented the case for further monetary policy tightening, with her slides saying that the ECB was expected to raise interest rates further to bring inflation back to its 2% target over the medium term.
27 June 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – Econostream’s ECB Tone Meter continued to decline in both its Governing Council and Executive Board measures, as policymakers have generally refrained from signaling that the ECB should hike interest rates at its next meeting.
26 June 2026