By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Olli Rehn said Thursday that the ECB could still raise interest rates in June to protect its credibility, while saying there was little evidence so far that the latest inflation shock was becoming entrenched.
By David Barwick and Marta Vilar – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Following is the transcript of the interview conducted by Econostream on 11 May 2026 with Martin Kocher, Governor of the Austrian National Bank and member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank:
By Marta Vilar and David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – A European Central Bank interest rate hike should not be considered the baseline for June, although keeping rates unchanged through year-end would be difficult if price developments failed to improve, according to ECB Governing Council member Martin Kocher.
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – Following is the full transcript of the interview conducted by Econostream on 6 May 2026 with Rasa Kavolytè, Director of State Treasury Department of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania.
Rasa Kavolytė, Director of Lithuanian Treasury: Still have up to €2.5 billion to raise via syndications in 2026 Kavolytė: We prefer launching new benchmarks in syndicated transactions Kavolytė: Investor demand strongest in the belly of the curve Kavolytė: No green bond issuance planned in the near term Kavolytė: No current plans to target institutional investors with defense bonds Kavolytė: Lithuania not planning to extend defense bond program to longer maturities
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Olli Rehn said Thursday that the ECB could still raise interest rates in June to protect its credibility, while saying there was little evidence so far that the latest inflation shock was becoming entrenched.
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Boris Vujčić said on Wednesday that the Iran war and the resulting energy price shock had put the ECB in a difficult position, with upward pressure on prices but a negative impact on growth.
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Pierre Wunsch said on Wednesday that if the Middle East conflict had not ended by the time the Governing Council meets on June 11, the chances of an interest rate hike would be quite high.
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – Banque de France governor nominee Emmanuel Moulin said on Wednesday that while the European Central Bank’s mandate is to fight inflation, interest rates should not be set as high as possible but instead be compatible with stable economic growth.
By Laura Contemori – ROME (Econostream) – Agence France Trésor (AFT) allotted €1.54 billion of inflation-linked government bonds at an auction on Thursday across four OATi and OAT€i lines.
By Laura Contemori – ROME (Econostream) – Agence France Trésor (AFT) allotted €13.998 billion of medium-term government bonds (OATs) at an auction on Thursday across four lines maturing between 2029 and 2033.
By Laura Contemori – ROME (Econostream) – The UK Debt Management Office (DMO) announced a £4 billion auction of the 4⅛% Treasury Gilt 2033 to be held on May 27, with settlement scheduled for May 28.
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – Econostream’s ECB Tone Meter fluctuated within slightly hawkish territory this week for the Governing Council, ultimately remaining broadly unchanged and ending just a touch more hawkish than last week, while the Executive Board edged more clearly lower but also stayed slightly hawkish.
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Chief Economist Philip Lane’s speech late Wednesday on energy supply shocks will come across to some as another building block in the case for a June rate hike. It is, however, more cautious than that: it takes the framework ECB President Christine Lagarde laid out in March and shows why June’s policy decision remains an open question.
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – We wouldn’t claim that European Central Bank Governing Council member Martin Kocher sounded on balance like a dove in our just-published interview with him, but to the extent he reflects the current thinking of Council hawks, the case for a June hike may still hang in the balance.
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has not undone the hawkish signal of April 30, when she suggested that “directionally, I know where we're heading.” Still, she has made clearer that June 11 may be more open than markets believed.
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – Econostream’s ECB Tone Meter moved further into hawkish territory this week, with both the Governing Council and Executive Board indices penetrating deeper into the slightly hawkish range between +0.5 and +2.5.