By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Olli Rehn said on Monday that it was “easy to agree” with the International Monetary Fund’s recommendation to central banks about monitoring the situation in the Middle East “calmly” as long as inflation expectations remain anchored.
20 April 2026
By David Barwick and Marta Vilar – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – We return from the IMF Spring Meetings in Washington yet more convinced that treating a June hike as the inevitable byproduct of an April hold understates the risk that June, too, will prove too early.
20 April 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras on Monday said the ECB’s next interest rate decision would depend heavily on whether the war in the Middle East had ended by the April 30 meeting, suggesting that a halt in the fighting would strengthen the case against tightening.
20 April 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Álvaro Santos Pereira said on Monday that the Middle East conflict has not yet had a “dramatic” effect on the euro area economy, though this could shift depending on how widely and how long the conflict continues.
20 April 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Alexander Demarco on Saturday said the ECB would be better off waiting for more clarity on the inflation fallout from the Iran war than risking unnecessary economic damage by tightening too soon, signaling that the April 30 meeting may come too early for a rate increase.
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By Marta Vilar – WASHINGTON (Econostream) – Econostream’s ECB Tone Meter has reversed its recent hawkish uptick, with the Governing Council still in slightly hawkish territory but less firmly so, while the Executive Board has returned to neutral.
17 April 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Mārtiņš Kazāks on Friday said the ECB still had time to assess the economic fallout from the Iran war and could even end up cutting rates if supply disruptions were to push the Eurozone economy sharply weaker.
17 April 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Martin Kocher on Friday said policymakers should keep their options open ahead of the April 30 meeting, arguing that it was right to show resolve on inflation without front-running an outcome that might not materialize.
17 April 2026
By Marta Vilar – WASHINGTON (Econostream) – Following is the full transcript of the interview conducted by Econostream on 15 April 2026 and updated on 17 April 2026 with Joachim Nagel, President of the Deutsche Bundesbank and member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank:
17 April 2026
By Marta Vilar – WASHINGTON (Econostream) – The European Central Bank does not necessarily have to deliver on financial market expectations of ECB interest rate moves, according to Governing Council member Joachim Nagel.
17 April 2026
By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Álvaro Santos Pereira said on Friday that the ECB should assess incoming data and keep a “cool head.”
17 April 2026
By Marta Vilar – WASHINGTON (Econostream) – Former European Central Bank Governing Council member Klaas Knot said on Friday that while the euro benefits from strong credibility and respect for international rules, structural weaknesses still limit its role as a top global reserve currency.
17 April 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Friday said the war in the Middle East had made the outlook “significantly more uncertain” and reiterated that the ECB would stay data-dependent and refrain from pre-committing to any rate path.
17 April 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Madis Müller on Friday said the ECB must remain alert to inflation risks from the war in Iran but does not yet have a clear basis for raising interest rates.
17 April 2026
By Marta Vilar and David Barwick – WASHINGTON (Econostream) - Following is the full transcript of the interview conducted by Econostream on 16 April with Alexander Demarco, Governor of the Central Bank of Malta and member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank:
17 April 2026
By David Barwick and Marta Vilar – WASHINGTON (Econostream) – June, rather than the April 30 policy meeting, would be the more appropriate point for the European Central Bank to judge whether the war-driven energy shock is feeding through into broader inflation, according to ECB Governing Council member Alexander Demarco.
17 April 2026
By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Primož Dolenc on Thursday said lower energy prices following the recent truce in the Iran war had moved the euro area economy back toward the ECB’s baseline scenario and could mean no rate hikes will be needed.
16 April 2026
By Marta Vilar – WASHINGTON (Econostream) – European Central Bank Chief Economist Philip Lane said on Thursday that the central bank should communicate its policy decisions in a more “nuanced and subtle way,” rather than conveying full certainty about its actions.
16 April 2026
By Marta Vilar – WASHINGTON (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member François Villeroy de Galhau said on Wednesday that there was “no rush” for the ECB to act, and that focusing on April was “premature.”
16 April 2026
By Marta Vilar – WASHINGTON (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Madis Müller said on Thursday that, given the data available by the April 30 meeting, it may be difficult to determine whether the ECB should be worry about possible ramifications of the energy shock.
16 April 2026