Central Bank

Bank of Spain Hikes Spanish GDP and Inflation Outlook For 2021 Through 2023

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Spanish economic growth this year will bounce back by 6.3% and remain at an elevated 5.9% next year before subsiding in 2023 to a still-respectable 2.0%, according to the central scenario of Banco de España’s latest macroeconomic projections, released on Tuesday.

ECB Insight: Drumbeat of Inflation Warnings Gaining in Volume

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Officials of the European Central Bank have been all but lining up in recent days to sound the alarm with respect to the potential for euro area inflation to come back to life sooner and more vigorously than expected.

ECB’s Schnabel: Asset Purchases to Remain Crucial in the Time to Come

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank’s asset purchases will continue to play an essential role beyond the pandemic, Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel said on Monday.

ECB: No Evidence of Substantial Side Effects from TLTROs So Far

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank’s targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTROs) have not had significant side effects yet, the ECB said on Monday.

ECB Insight: de Cos’ Remarks Show a Certain Evolution, But No Conversion

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – A close look at the interview published Sunday with European Central Bank Governing Council member Pablo Hernández de Cos reveals him to be slowly taking on board at least some of the optimism finally infecting the less hawkish side of the Council. By no means has he undergone a full-bore conversion.

ECB’s Stournaras: Inflation Subject to Upside Risks, But Far From Being Cause for Concern

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Although euro area inflation is subject to upside risks, the situation is far from being worrisome, European Central Bank Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras said Monday.

ECB’s Kazāks: Some Upside for the Inflation Outlook over the Medium Term

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The increase in asset purchases under the European Central Bank’s pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP) is envisioned as temporary, but this depends on how the situation evolves, according to ECB Governing Council member Mārtiņš Kazāks.

ECB’s Makhlouf: ‘Lot of Evidence to Suggest’ HICP to Subside, But May Not Happen That Way

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Gabriel Makhlouf on Friday expressed confidence that inflation would subside again, but at the same time acknowledged that future price developments could surprise on the upside.

ECB Brief: de Guindos Sees Potential for Even Higher 2021 HICP, Stronger Wage Developments

ECB’s de Cos: Financing Conditions Still Need Policy Support; ECB Hasn’t Started Tapering

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank did not initiate the tapering of its asset purchases with last week’s decision and financing conditions still very much need policy support, ECB Governing Council member Pablo Hernández de Cos said Friday.

ECB Insight: ECB Sets Its Own Traps, Then Falls into One and Flounders

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank has essentially stumbled headlong into a pitfall of its own making after information regarding the institution’s expectations of future inflation was apparently shared by Chief Economist Philip Lane with private bankers.

ECB Hawk-Dove Ranking: Council Members Left Unchanged for Now, But Several Under Review

Econostream's latest ranking of the members of the European Central Bank Governing Council in terms of hawkishness/dovishness.

ECB’s Holzmann Warns of Monetary Policy Consequences if r* Decline Not Reversed

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Robert Holzmann on Wednesday warned of the monetary policy and economic consequences if the downward trend of the equilibrium real interest rate r* were not reversed.

ECB’s Schnabel: ‘Investors Have Started Internalising Our More Patient Reaction Function’

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Financial markets have taken the European Central Bank’s new forward guidance on board and understand that the ECB will be more patient before altering its monetary policy stance, Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel said on Wednesday.

ECB Insight: Council Members With Right to Vote in December Relatively Dovish, But May Not Matter

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – With European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde having made clear last Thursday that the Governing Council would defer major decisions until December, the question of which members are formally entitled to vote at that meeting may be of particular interest.

ECB’s Villeroy: On Inflation, ‘Vigilant Without Being Worried’

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member François Villeroy de Galhau said Tuesday that the attitude towards inflation was one of vigilance but not worry.

ECB Insight: Schnabel, a Bit More Forcefully, Invokes the Potential for an Inflation Recovery

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel on Monday combined strong rhetoric from both sides of the hawk-dove spectrum of the ECB’s Governing Council as she once again, though in more forceful terms, put on notice those anticipating persistently weak inflation.

ECB’s Villeroy: Don’t See Any Tsunami of Corporate Bankruptcies

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member François Villeroy de Galhau on Monday again dispelled fears of a wave of French corporate bankruptcies.

ECB’s Rehn: Policy Stance Appropriate for Rebounding Economy and Remaining Uncertainty

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank’s monetary policy decision yesterday reflects the strong recovery and, at the same time, the lingering uncertainty, ECB Governing Council member Olli Rehn said on Friday.

ECB’s Vasle: 4Q PEPP Asset Purchase Volumes to Be ‘Slightly Lower’ Than in 2Q and 3Q

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Asset purchases made in the fourth quarter under the European Central Bank’s pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP) would be ‘slightly lower’ in volume than in the previous two quarters, ECB Governing Council member Boštjan Vasle said Friday.