By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Bundesbank President and European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel said Thursday that keeping interest rates unchanged in July was appropriate after June’s increase left policymakers well placed to assess further developments.
24 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Pierre Wunsch on Friday said he opposed raising banks’ minimum reserve requirement while the reserves remained unremunerated, arguing that this would amount to a form of taxation.
24 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Thursday broadly delivered the expected communication mix, acknowledging, as we anticipated earlier in the day, that some governors had “asked themselves whether we should not consider a hike” while resisting every invitation to turn that discussion into guidance for September.
23 July 2026
By Laura Contemori – ROME (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Thursday said some governors considered raising interest rates at the July meeting, but policymakers ultimately agreed unanimously to leave rates unchanged and decide in September after receiving substantial new economic data.
23 July 2026
ECB Holds Rates at 2.25%, Says Full Inflationary Impact of Energy Shock Still to Come
23 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Will European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde say on Thursday that the Governing Council discussed raising rates again at its meeting?
23 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – When the European Central Bank’s Governing Council emerged from its June meeting, members’ unspoken “baseline,” we understand, was that there would be no second hike in July but that September would be very live.
21 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel on Tuesday urged Europe to move faster on the Savings and Investment Union and the digital euro, saying both were needed for a more sovereign and competitive Europe.
21 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Spain’s government has chosen Bank for International Settlements General Manager Pablo Hernández de Cos as its preferred candidate to succeed Christine Lagarde as European Central Bank president, Expansión reported Tuesday.
21 July 2026
- Most respondents still see the ECB rate cycle as active
- September staff projections viewed as the key reason to wait
- Terminal rate most commonly seen at 2.50%
- Risks skewed towards an even higher terminal rate
- July statement and tone seen little changed
- Economists split on how strongly Lagarde will hint at September
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member José Luis Escrivá has attracted little attention in the still unofficial race to succeed ECB President Christine Lagarde. But Escrivá may be hiding in plain sight at the head of the Banco de España, given his strong claim to serious consideration.
20 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank’s latest SAFE survey suggests that euro area firms are not further amplifying the energy shock via their own pricing and wage plans, even as they remain skeptical that inflation will return fully to target over the longer term.
20 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Euro area firms reported a marked further tightening in bank lending conditions in the second quarter, while their expectations for selling prices, input costs and wages moderated, the European Central Bank said Monday.
20 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde’s newly explicit openness to leaving Frankfurt early should not be understood exclusively in terms of a potential candidacy in next year’s critical French presidential election.
20 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – Econostream’s ECB Tone Meter edged lower this week in both its Governing Council and Executive Board measures, with the latter declining to almost the same level as the former, virtually eliminating the gap that had previously separated the two.
17 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – Following is a collection of views expressed by ECB Governing Council members on various topics of high relevance related to next week’s meeting and the further evolution of monetary policy.
17 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said Friday that the digital euro would help preserve commercial banks’ role in the payments ecosystem while strengthening Europe’s payments sovereignty.
17 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel said on Wednesday that Europe should seek to strengthen the international role of the euro, arguing that doing so would increase strategic autonomy in a fragmenting global environment.
15 July 2026
By Laura Contemori – ROME (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Fabio Panetta said on Wednesday that the ECB would carefully assess energy markets, the economic outlook and wage and price dynamics when considering its future monetary policy decisions.
15 July 2026