By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Madis Müller said on Wednesday that for the ECB to avoid hiking interest rates, the Strait of Hormuz would have to be opened quickly.
13 May 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Primož Dolenc said Wednesday that higher energy prices had so far had only limited indirect effects on the broader economy, but warned that the Middle East conflict could still push up inflation expectations and consumer prices.
13 May 2026
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.
13 May 2026
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:
13 May 2026
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.
13 May 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member François Villeroy de Galhau said on Wednesday that the ECB must be ready to act in order to prevent second-round inflation effects.
13 May 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Olli Rehn said on Wednesday that the ECB should not base monetary policy on oil prices alone, but instead assess whether the energy shock spreads to inflation expectations, wages and underlying inflation.
13 May 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Executive Board member Frank Elderson said Wednesday that Europe’s banks were being held back mainly by the lack of a genuinely unified banking market, rather than by prudential rules.
13 May 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel said on Tuesday that “interest rate hikes will become increasingly likely” if the inflation outlook does not improve significantly.
12 May 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Alexander Demarco said Tuesday that the ECB’s ability to look through the latest oil shock was weakening as the Middle East conflict drags on and energy prices remain elevated.
12 May 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Executive Board member Frank Elderson on Tuesday said Europe’s banking sector was held back by fragmented markets rather than excessive regulation, calling for faster progress on the banking union, capital markets integration and the Single Market.
12 May 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel said on Tuesday that large or persistent effects from the Middle East conflict on inflation would require action from the ECB.
12 May 2026
By Laura Contemori – ROME (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Fabio Panetta was elected chair of the board of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) for a three-year term starting June 3, the BIS said in a press release on Tuesday.
12 May 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Christodoulos Patsalides said in an interview published Monday that worsening inflation risks were pushing the ECB toward a possible June rate hike, though he cautioned that any move would depend on incoming data and would not necessarily open a new tightening phase.
11 May 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Olli Rehn said on Monday that Europe should brace for a lengthy war in the Middle East, arguing that China may not really be pushing Iran toward peace.
11 May 2026
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.
11 May 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos said on Monday that the ECB must be prudent ahead of its next interest rate decision, warning that incoming economic data are likely to show weaker growth amid the ongoing energy-price shock.
11 May 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Martin Kocher said that the risk of stagflation in the Eurozone could not be ruled out and that the ECB should not wait too long to raise interest rates if energy prices failed to improve quickly and clearly.
11 May 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras said on Sunday that Europe needed to deepen integration to raise growth, strengthen resilience and close its financing gap with other major economies.
10 May 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member José Luis Escrivá on Saturday said private stablecoins could not serve as the anchor of the monetary system, arguing that central banks remained essential guarantors of trust amid geoeconomic fragmentation and rapid technological change.
9 May 2026