By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Ülo Kaasik said Friday that financial markets were understandably expecting interest rates to rise again this year as renewed Middle East tensions kept inflation risks elevated.
24 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Following is a transcript of the interview conducted by Econostream on 23 July 2026 with Olaf Sleijpen, Governor of De Nederlandsche Bank and member of the European Central Bank Governing Council.
24 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank could still raise interest rates in September even if second-round effects have not yet emerged, should the overall inflation outlook warrant it, according to ECB Governing Council member Olaf Sleijpen.
24 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Most participants in the European Central Bank’s latest Survey of Professional Forecasters expected a further interest rate increase, while cutting their euro-area growth forecast for this year, results released Friday showed.
24 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde left herself plenty of room to maneuver on Thursday while appearing to offer reassurances about how long she intends to remain at the ECB.
24 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Primož Dolenc said Friday that risks stemming from the Middle East conflict remained high and that euro area economic growth was continuing.
24 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel was strikingly neutral after Thursday’s decision, offering none of the mildly hawkish signaling one might ordinarily expect from him.
24 July 2026
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
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – Economists surveyed by Econostream overwhelmingly expect the European Central Bank to leave interest rates unchanged at next week's Governing Council meeting but continue to view the decision to hold as a pause rather than the conclusion of the current tightening cycle.
21 July 2026
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