By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Thursday did what she had to do – and as we expected yesterday – after the Governing Council’s unsurprising 25bp rate hike, refusing adamantly to provide a post-June roadmap.
11 June 2026
By Marta Vilar – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Thursday that the ECB unanimously decided to raise interest rates by 25bp, with no other policy options discussed, describing the move as both “necessary” and “a signal.”
11 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank’s monetary policy decision on Thursday was consistent, at least at first glance, with the “one-and-watch” scenario we outlined ahead of the meeting.
11 June 2026
By Marta Vilar – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank’s Governing Council on Thursday raised its key interest rates by 25bp and published updated staff projections pointing to weaker growth and higher inflation over the coming years.
11 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank’s main decision on June 11 stopped being the source of much suspense some time ago, with a 25bp rate hike the only reasonably probable outcome and the Governing Council likely to be unanimous, given the lack of any obvious dissenter.
10 June 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – Econostream’s ECB Tone Meter was broadly unchanged for the Governing Council while turning slightly more hawkish for the Executive Board as the quiet period ahead of the June meeting began.
5 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras on Thursday said the latest Middle East conflict had created another supply-side shock that was pushing up inflation and weighing on economic activity, arguing that Europe needed more investment to strengthen its resilience.
4 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras on Thursday said artificial intelligence could raise productivity and increase economies’ growth potential, but warned that the transition could also create inflationary pressures, labor-market disruptions and new risks to financial stability.
4 June 2026
By Laura Contemori – ROME (Econostream) – The Bank of Italy's €-coin indicator, a measure of underlying euro area economic growth, declined to 0.45 in May 2026 from 0.52 in April, according to a joint release by the Bank of Italy and the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) on Thursday.
4 June 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.
4 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said Wednesday that the ECB had received more than 50 applications from payment service providers seeking to participate in next year’s digital euro pilot.
3 June 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Executive Board member Frank Elderson said on Wednesday that looking through the energy shock had become “increasingly unlikely” for the ECB.
3 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Executive Board member Frank Elderson said Wednesday that the ECB would ask banks to take proactive steps to protect themselves against cyber risks stemming from frontier artificial intelligence models.
3 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Pierre Wunsch is hardly the least serious name in the discussion about who will eventually succeed ECB President Christine Lagarde, making his multiple drawbacks as a potential candidate all the more deserving of scrutiny.
3 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Pierre Wunsch on Wednesday signaled support for a 25bp rate increase on June 11, saying the case for hiking would probably remain in place even if a peace deal in the Middle East were confirmed shortly before the meeting.
3 June 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Vice President Boris Vujčić said on Tuesday that successful participation in a monetary union required durable convergence and policy credibility over time, noting that monetary integration could not be achieved through a single policy decision or a temporary alignment of economic indicators.
2 June 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Gediminas Šimkus said on Tuesday that he saw no reason for the ECB to surprise financial markets by holding interest rates steady next week.
2 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Olli Rehn's speech on Tuesday mounted the clearest argument yet for characterizing a likely June rate hike as an “insurance hike,” even as it illustrated the peril of the phrase.
2 June 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Olli Rehn said Tuesday that a rate increase next week would amount to insurance against inflation risks rather than a response to already entrenched price pressures.
2 June 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Counicl member Olaf Sleijpen said on Tuesday that rapidly rising government debt could constrain central banks' ability to combat inflation, noting that concerns about debt sustainability could make interest rate hikes more difficult to implement effectively.
2 June 2026