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
By Marta Vilar – ROME (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Fabio Panetta said on Tuesday that negotiations between the United States and Iran could result in lower energy prices than assumed in the ECB’s June staff projections but warned that the economic outlook remained “fragile.”
7 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Executive Board member Philip Lane said Monday that artificial intelligence could affect inflation, investment, the natural rate of interest and monetary policy transmission in multiple ways, but that the net impact remained uncertain.
6 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – ROME (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Pierre Wunsch said on Monday that if recent declines in oil and gas prices persist and second-round effects remain contained, the ECB should be able to return inflation to target without needing significant additional monetary tightening.
6 July 2026
By David Barwick – ROME (Econostream) – European Central Bank Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel on Monday argued that monetary policy could not look through the current shock, since – despite the renewed decline of oil prices – it was already leading to indirect effects and could still become self-perpetuating.
6 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel on Friday said that the ECB must be vigilant, open and keep all options on the table given the unpredictability of the Middle East conflict and energy shock.
3 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Pierre Wunsch has occupied an unusually prominent place in the news recently, and not just for his views on monetary policy.
3 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – Econostream’s ECB Tone Meter declined further this week in both its Governing Council and Executive Board measures, with the latter remaining more hawkish than the former, as policymakers increasingly signaled that the case for another interest rate hike is receding and a July move appears increasingly unlikely.
3 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – If European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde’s latest monetary policy comments were still largely about defending the June rate hike, newly installed Banque de France Governor Emmanuel Moulin has already moved on to what is evidently the more important task for anyone at the head of the French central bank: making absolutely sure that no one mistakes June for the start of a new tightening cycle.
3 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – For the second time this week, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde’s monetary policy comments defended the June rate hike more than they illuminate what comes next.
3 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Emmanuel Moulin said on Friday that the ECB was in a “good position” following its June interest rate hike, adding that the balance of risks was “in the right place.”
3 July 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has now said explicitly what had long been implicit: she could leave the ECB before the expiry of her term at the end of October 2027.
3 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said late Thursday that she did not know whether the ECB would raise interest rates again at one of its upcoming meetings but added that she had “a general sense” of the direction monetary policy would take.
3 July 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) - European Central Bank Governing Council member José Luis Escrivá said on Thursday that the key challenge for policymakers was determining whether the inflationary effects of the Middle East war would prove temporary or become persistent enough to threaten the ECB's price stability objective.
2 July 2026