Anticipating the Euro area banking sector is resilient, with strong capital and liquidity positions, and that inflation is projected to remain too high for too long, the European Central Bank announced on Thursday that the ECB Governing Council decided to increase the three key ECB interest rates by 50 basis points, in line with its determination to ensure the timely return of inflation to the 2% medium-term target.
The European Union common currency, the Euro sank to a two-decade low of US$0.9810 on Thursday. It came after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the partial mobilization of reservists in an escalation of the war in Ukraine and after the Federal Reserve implemented a 75 basis points increase to the interest rate.
The European Central Bank on Thursday raised key interest rates for the first time in over a decade with the purpose of combating inflation, reflected in consumer prices of the Euro-zone which reached 8,6% in the first half of the year.
As Ukraine war continues and fears that Russia could further restrict Europe's supplies of gas, increasing the chances of a recession in the Eurozone, the European common currency has fallen below the dollar for the first time in nearly 20 years.
The European Central Bank Governing Council said on Thursday that in the current conditions of high uncertainty it will maintain gradualism and flexibility as the guidelines for its monetary policy anticipating that the assets purchase program will be concluded by the third quarter.
By Jean Pisani-Ferry (*) – Twenty years ago, on January 1, 2002, citizens of 12 European countries began using new euro banknotes and coins. A larger-than-life project – emblematic of a time when European leaders were bold enough to step into the unknown – thus became a tangible reality.
The European Central Bank confirmed its expansive monetary policy this week, in accordance with its recently reviewed inflation target and in a context of growing Covid 19 contagions that threaten recovery.
Denmark and Switzerland have long shared the world record in negative interest rates, at minus 0.75%. But that may be about to change. Economists at some of the biggest Nordic banks say Denmark, which pegs the krone to the euro, is likely to raise its key rate in the coming months.
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday lauded Mario Draghi for defending the European dream in the face of opposition as he handed over a divided ECB to Christine Lagarde.
Former IMF chief Christine Lagarde said President Donald Trump's trade offensive against China could slash global economic growth and she critiqued his Twitter habits in an interview with US television program 60 Minutes.