ECB’s Nagel sees another hike as second-round risks mount
The President of the Bundesbank, Joachim Nagel, who is also a member of the European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council, hinted that the ECB would need to raise interest rates again.
In a keynote at the 79th Siemens Bankers Conference on Friday, Nagel added that “If the situation stays as it is, it seems highly probable that we’ll have to act again,” adding that monthly price rises increase the chances of second-round effects.
He noted that core inflation “is still elevated, and short-term inflation expectations have risen in line with the jump in headline inflation.”
Key takeaways:
It's highly probable ECB will have to act again.
Early stages of pricing chain point to upward pressures.
Short-term inflation expectations have risen.
Outlook has deteriorated since September.
Euro Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of Euro (EUR) against listed major currencies today. Euro was the strongest against the Australian Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.23% | 0.21% | 0.03% | 0.02% | 0.48% | 0.40% | 0.41% | |
| EUR | -0.23% | -0.03% | -0.19% | -0.21% | 0.24% | 0.17% | 0.18% | |
| GBP | -0.21% | 0.03% | -0.19% | -0.16% | 0.26% | 0.20% | 0.21% | |
| JPY | -0.03% | 0.19% | 0.19% | -0.01% | 0.45% | 0.36% | 0.38% | |
| CAD | -0.02% | 0.21% | 0.16% | 0.00% | 0.46% | 0.38% | 0.39% | |
| AUD | -0.48% | -0.24% | -0.26% | -0.45% | -0.46% | -0.07% | -0.07% | |
| NZD | -0.40% | -0.17% | -0.20% | -0.36% | -0.38% | 0.07% | 0.02% | |
| CHF | -0.41% | -0.18% | -0.21% | -0.38% | -0.39% | 0.07% | -0.02% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Euro from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent EUR (base)/USD (quote).
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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