By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel’s newest remarks confirm that a July rate hike is not the European Central Bank’s baseline and underscore the need for the ECB to exercise great caution under the prevailing circumstances.
15 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said the ECB’s monetary policy was aimed at preventing the current energy shock from generating second-round effects and at keeping inflation expectations anchored.
15 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel signaled that the ECB need not rush into another rate hike after June’s move, saying the decision had put policy at an appropriate level and that caution was warranted amid high uncertainty.
15 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Emmanuel Moulin said on Wednesday that the impact of renewed tensions in the Middle East on inflation would depend on how persistent and long-lasting the latest crisis proved to be.
15 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is fond of assuring markets that they understand the ECB’s reaction function. After the ECB’s June meeting , for example, she said the Governing Council’s job was to “follow carefully the reaction function that you are all familiar with” and to be “as transparent about [it] as possible so that we are predictable.”
14 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras said Tuesday that renewed hostilities in the Middle East had created fresh uncertainty over inflation and economic growth after energy prices had briefly de-escalated.
14 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel on Monday identified integration, innovation and sovereignty as key pillars for reviving growth and resilience in Europe, according to slides prepared for a speech in Münster.
13 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said Monday the final legal text on the digital euro could be completed by the end of 2026, allowing the ECB to decide on possible issuance.
13 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member Gabriel Makhlouf said Irish fiscal policy should avoid adding to inflation pressures as euro area monetary policy had tightened and Ireland faced externally driven price pressures.
13 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Monday said that risks to European Union financial stability remained elevated despite the resilience shown by the EU economy and financial system.
13 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) - Econostream's ECB Tone Meter declined markedly this week in both its Governing Council and Executive Board measures, with the latter remaining slightly more hawkish than the former, as policymakers sounded less likely early in the week to hike again and were then largely silent following the renewed outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East.
10 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The renewed flare-up of violence in the Middle East has made it harder for the European Central Bank to approach the Governing Council’s July 23 monetary policy meeting as a wait-and-see exercise, but it has yet to make a July rate hike the obvious baseline.
10 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras on Friday said that renewed hostilities between the U.S. and Iran showed the uncertainty surrounding energy prices and inflation forecasts, and therefore the challenges facing monetary policy.
10 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has again managed to say very little about her potential French political future, but in a way that only feeds the speculation.
10 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Thursday that she was not presently seeking any political office, while stressing that she remained committed to defending Europe in whatever role she could be most effective.
9 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member José Luis Escrivá said on Thursday that recent swings in oil prices triggered by developments in the Middle East conflict were making it more difficult for policymakers to assess the appropriate path for interest rates.
9 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank’s June rate hike was warranted by a persistent energy shock and should “not be seen as an insurance hike,” but policymakers avoided signaling whether further tightening would follow, according to the account of the meeting, released Thursday.
9 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – SAN LORENZO DE EL ESCORIAL, Spain (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member José Luis Escrivá said on Wednesday that the situation in the Middle East following renewed US strikes on Iran was “very uncertain” and that the peace agreement remained fragile.
8 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – SAN LORENZO DE EL ESCORIAL, Spain (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member José Luis Escrivá said on Wednesday that if the recent decline in oil prices were to persist, the factors that had concerned policymakers would gradually ease, while noting that the outlook could change quickly.
8 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel on Wednesday said the new flare-up in the conflict with Iran had made the ECB’s July monetary policy decision unclear.
8 July 2026