ECB’s Lane: We are continuously monitoring the situation and are ready to adjust all our instruments if necessary
|In an interview with El Pais early Monday, the European Central Bank (ECB) Chief Economist Phillip Lane said, “the ECB has done a lot already. And we are continuously monitoring the situation and are ready to adjust all our instruments if necessary,” while talking about the coronavirus response.
Further comments
“We are constantly assessing whether we are doing enough and if there is a risk of instability.”
“The June meeting is still three weeks away, and we are in the process of analyzing the situation.”
“If we see that financial conditions are too tight, or the pressure on individual bond markets is not reflecting economic fundamentals, we can adjust the size or duration of our purchases.“
“On German constitutional court ruling, we are certain that everything we do is necessary to fulfil our mandate. And we will do what we have to in order to fulfill our mandate.”
When asked if can the ECB go against the most important country in the euro area, “we are an independent central bank.”
“Independence comes with accountability: towards the European parliament, and, of course, we are subject to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, which ruled in favor of our public sector purchase programme.”
“We are careful to remain at a good distance from monetary financing, and this has also been confirmed by the court rulings.”
“From today’s perspective, it looks in any case unlikely that economic activity will return to its pre-crisis level before 2021, if not later.“
“What we know for sure is that the steepest fall will be in the first half of the year, and these terrible economic conditions should recover little by little, week by week, month by month.”
Market reaction
EUR/USD is little affected by the above remarks and extends its consolidative mode into Europe. The spot ranges around 1.0820, modestly flat on the day.
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