The Buzz | Eurozone interest rates could stay frozen well into 2019
Weaker signals from the economy and worries about a possible trade war between the United State and China have left the top monetary authority for the 19 countries that use the euro in no hurry to start withdrawing its monetary stimulus.
And that means the central bank’s short-term interest rate benchmark will almost certainly stay at zero well into next year, ensuring low borrowing costs for businesses but miserly returns for savers.
Analysts think ECB President Mario Draghi will try to say as little as possible Thursday about when the bank might phase out its 30 billion euros per month in bond purchases, currently slated to run at least through September. The ECB would only start considering raising rates once the bond-buying is over.
The bank’s 25-member rate-setting council meets at the bank’s skyscraper headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany.
Leave a reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
