ECB’s Schnabel: Risks to inflation are tilted a little bit to the upside
European Central Bank (ECB) executive board member Isabel Schnabel said at BNP Paribas' 9th annual Global Markets Conference "Europe Reimagined” that there is no need to adjust interest rates in the current situation, and the main focus of the central bank is on core inflation.
Additional comments
Interest rates are 'absolutely’ in a good place.
Inflation risks are tilted a little bit to upside.
The main focus should be on core inflation.
Food-price inflation is still pretty strong.
Not seeing sustained disinflationary pressures.
Can tolerate small deviations from the inflation target in either direction.
Positive underlying momentum in the economy.
China dumping risk hasn't materialized yet.
Market reaction
The Euro (EUR) has attracted slight bids after ECB Schnabel’s comments, with the EUR/USD trading 0.12% lower to near 1.1570 during the press time.
ECB FAQs
The European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany, is the reserve bank for the Eurozone. The ECB sets interest rates and manages monetary policy for the region. The ECB primary mandate is to maintain price stability, which means keeping inflation at around 2%. Its primary tool for achieving this is by raising or lowering interest rates. Relatively high interest rates will usually result in a stronger Euro and vice versa. The ECB Governing Council makes monetary policy decisions at meetings held eight times a year. Decisions are made by heads of the Eurozone national banks and six permanent members, including the President of the ECB, Christine Lagarde.
In extreme situations, the European Central Bank can enact a policy tool called Quantitative Easing. QE is the process by which the ECB prints Euros and uses them to buy assets – usually government or corporate bonds – from banks and other financial institutions. QE usually results in a weaker Euro. QE is a last resort when simply lowering interest rates is unlikely to achieve the objective of price stability. The ECB used it during the Great Financial Crisis in 2009-11, in 2015 when inflation remained stubbornly low, as well as during the covid pandemic.
Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse of QE. It is undertaken after QE when an economic recovery is underway and inflation starts rising. Whilst in QE the European Central Bank (ECB) purchases government and corporate bonds from financial institutions to provide them with liquidity, in QT the ECB stops buying more bonds, and stops reinvesting the principal maturing on the bonds it already holds. It is usually positive (or bullish) for the Euro.
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