Bundesbank: Technical Recession in Germany Not Excluded

By Isabel Teles – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The German economy contracted in the fourth quarter of 2023 and might shrink again in the first quarter of 2024, leading to a technical recession, the German Bundesbank said on Monday in its latest monthly report.

They Said It - Recent Comments of ECB Governing Council Members

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The following is an overview of recent comments made by European Central Bank Governing Council members. We include only comments made since the Governing Council meeting of 25 January, but earlier comments can still be seen in versions up to that of 19 January .

ECB’s Villeroy: Risk of Waiting Too Long to Cut at Least as Big as Risk of Cutting Too Soon

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member François Villeroy de Galhau on Friday said that the danger of waiting too long to cut interest rates was now at least as great as that of cutting them too early.

ECB’s Schnabel: ‘Must Be Cautious Not to Adjust Our Policy Stance Prematurely’

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank has to be sure that it does not initiate policy easing too soon, given ongoing threats to price stability, ECB Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel said Friday.

ECB Insight: Governing Council Tally Shows ‘Premature’ Camp Still Leading, but Not Overwhelmingly

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – A member-by-member review of the European Central Bank Governing Council with respect to the preference to tackle policy easing more or less slowly reveals that the camp of those continuing to see interest rate cuts as premature dominates, though the opposition has gained ground.

ECB’s de Cos: Some Time Left Before We Cut Interest Rates

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Pablo Hernández de Cos on Thursday said that the ECB was not yet ready to cut interest rates, but that this would be the next monetary policy move.

ECB Insight: Insider Thinking on the Operational Framework

ECB’s Lagarde: ‘Latest Data Confirm the Ongoing Disinflation Process’

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Thursday said that disinflation was continuing and would see inflation decline over the current year.

ECB’s Makhlouf: ‘Open-Minded About the Path of Our Policy Rates’

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Gabriel Makhlouf on Wednesday described himself as open-minded with regard to what happens with ECB interest rates.

ECB’s Cipollone: Pursuing Technical Work on Digital Euro Development, Financial Stability, Privacy

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Executive Board member Piero Cipollone on Wednesday said that the ECB was continuing to pursue technical work on a digital euro.

ECB Insight: De Guindos Makes Clear That the ECB Remains Firmly in a Waiting Game

By David Barwick – SPLIT, Croatia (Econostream) – European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos on Wednesday understatedly but resolutely discouraged very short-term rate cut expectations even as he recognised the progress in disinflation so far and voiced the anticipation that this would continue.

ECB’s de Guindos: Need ‘Some More Time’ to Get Necessary Information

By David Barwick – SPLIT, Croatia (Econostream) – European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos on Wednesday said that the ECB required additional time to obtain the data needed to give it confidence about the sustainable restoration of price stability.

ECB’s de Cos: Waiting for More Information in the Coming Weeks and Months

By David Barwick – SPLIT, Croatia (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Pablo Hernández de Cos on Wednesday said that the ECB was awaiting further data before cutting interest rates.

ECB’s Vujčić: Inflation is Coming Down, Hopefully in a Sustainable Manner

By David Barwick – SPLIT, Croatia (Econostream) – The European Central Bank is achieving success in its effort to get inflation under control, ECB Governing Council member Boris Vujčić said Wednesday.

ECB’s de Guindos: ‘Optimistic About the Evolution of Inflation’

By David Barwick – SPLIT, Croatia (Econostream) – European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos on Wednesday said that he was optimistic about inflation developments.

ECB’s Wunsch: Europe’s Climate Transition Strategy More Credible Than US Inflation Reduction Act

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Pierre Wunsch on Tuesday said that the American Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was inferior to Europe’s strategy in dealing with the climate transition, even if Europe had much room for improvement.

ECB’s Lane: Number of Rate Cuts to Depend on Progress Towards Our Target

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Executive Board member Philip Lane on Tuesday said that ECB would cut interest rates according to its success in restoring price stability.

TRANSCRIPT: Brief Chat with ECB Governing Council member Wunsch on 08 February 2024

By David Barwick – BRUSSELS (Econostream) - Following is the transcript of a brief chat that took place on 8 February 2024 between Econostream and Pierre Wunsch, Governor of the National Bank of Belgium and member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, following the latter’s presentation at a public event we reported on at the time.

Exclusive: ECB’s Wunsch: Risks Not Big Either Way, Whether We Wait for More Data or Not

By David Barwick – BRUSSELS (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Pierre Wunsch on Thursday said that while an argument could be made for deferring monetary policy easing until more data became available, the risks of deciding not to continue to wait were also not great.

ECB’s Cipollone: ‘No Need for Monetary Policy to Generate Further Slack to Keep Inflation in Check’

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Executive Board member Piero Cipollone on Monday said that monetary policy no longer had to create economic slack to get inflation under control.