“Still see probability of rate hike higher than hold”: ECB’s Simkus expresses hawkish bias on rates
European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member and head of Lithuania's central bank, Gediminas Simkus, said during European trading hours on Friday that the chances of an interest rate hike in the near term are higher than maintaining the status quo. Simkus also ruled out fears of second-round effects of higher inflation.
Additional remarks
$100 oil will have repercussions on inflation.
Inflationary environment has increased.
No value in rushing with a decision now.
In September, again we'll have additional inflation data.
Still see probability of rate hike higher than hold.
We do not see second-round effects of higher inflation.
Inflation seen higher than target for a long time.
Market reaction
A slight recovery move is seen in the Euro (EUR) following ECB Simkus's remarks. At press time, EUR/USD trades 0.1% higher to near 1.3325.
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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