Mario Draghi's last press conference as President of the European Central Bank reflects his eight-year tenure – dovish. He expressed pessimism about the current situation. Do not be fooled by the 20-pip rise in EUR/USD – it is related to the US Dollar's weakness – originating from downbeat US Durable Goods Orders for September.
Mario Draghi concluded his final press conference as head of the ECB with an elegy on the success of his eight years as president rather than with advice for his successor Christine Lagarde. He noted that the poplularity of the euro has never been so high, a result , perhaps of his famouns promise to do whatever it takes to save the united curency.
Super Mario supercharged EUR/USD – triggering a range of 120 and sending it plunging. Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, has presided over a dramatic policy announcement in his penultimate decision. On the one hand, the ECB has cut interest rates by only ten basis points from -0.40% to 0.50%.
We can find at least 3 reasons for the turnaround in the euro. First and foremost, ECB President Draghi called on governments to go big with fiscal stimulus. He said "reform implementation must be stepped but substantially" to raise long term growth potential. The central bank has long felt that monetary stimulus alone won't be enough and by doubling down on a massive stimulus package, he's put the ball in their court.
Mario Draghi is Super Mario once again. The European Central Bank has left its interest rate unchanged but still sent the euro down. The Frankfurt-based institution has opened the door to rate cuts, tiering of the deposit rate and most importantly – a new round of Quantitative Easing – or money printing to devalue the euro.
We think the ECB will buy €45B of sovereign bonds per month for 12 months starting in October. That will almost certainly require the ECB to raise its issuer limits for sovereigns to 50% from 33%. We are not expecting the ECB to buy corporate bonds or equities.
GBP/USD has leaped above 1.29, the highest since early November, as the Brexit Party has failed to field candidates in 43 additional seats, facilitating a victory for PM Boris Johnson.
EUR/USD is trading closer to 1.1050, up on the day. US Commerce Secretary Ross has expressed optimism about reaching a deal with China. The Retail Sales Control Group met expectations with 0.3%.
The USD/JPY pair maintained its strong bid tone near session tops and had a rather muted reaction to the mixed US economic data.
BTC/USD has fallen below $8,500 during the Asian trading session. A close below this support level would put $7,500 on the trading table. ETH/USD is moving below the 50-period exponential moving average.
The public phase of the impeachment hearings against President Donald Trump has kicked off, with the US public and parties divided more than ever. How does it affect markets?
The European Central Bank is the central bank empowered to manage monetary policy for the Eurozone. With its beginnings in Germany 1998, the ECB is empowered to maintain price stability in the euro area, so that the euro’s purchasing power is not eroded by inflation. As an entity independent of individual EU countries and EU institutions, the ECB aims to ensure that the year-on-year increase in consumer prices is less than, but close to 2% over the medium term. Another of its tasks is the one of controlling the money supply. This involves, for example, setting interest rates throughout the euro area. The European Central Bank’s work is organized via the following decision-making bodies: the Executive Board, the Governing Council and the General Council. Christine Lagarde is the President of this organism since November 1st 2019. Her speeches, statements and declarations are an important source of volatility, especially for the Euro and the currencies traded against the European currency.
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Christine Lagarde was born in 1956 in Paris, France. Graduated from Paris West University Nanterre La Défense and became President of the European Central Bank in November 1st 2019. Prior to that, she served as Chairman and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund between 2011 and 2019. Lagarde previously held various senior ministerial posts in the Government of France: she was Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry (2007–2011), Minister of Agriculture and Fishing (2007) and Minister of Commerce (2005–2007).
Prior to the Rate Decision:
After the Rate Decision:
The decision always has an effect on the Euro.
When the interest rate is increased the European Central Bank is literally selling government securities to large financial firms. In turn, the financial organizations are paying in Euros for these securities. This effectively decreases the amount of currency circulating in the economy. A decreasing supply leads to higher demand, and therefore causes the value of the Euro to appreciate.
When the interest rates are decreased, the European Central Bank floods the market with Euros. This is done by the purchasing government securities from financial organizations. In return for the securities, these banks and financial deals are paid in Euros, therefore increasing the supply of Euros in the economy. As supply increases, the value of the Euros depreciates.
The World Interest Rates Table reflects the current interest rates of the main countries around the world, set by their respective Central Banks. Rates typically reflect the health of individual economies, as in a perfect scenario, Central Banks tend to rise rates when the economy is growing and therefore instigate inflation.
In practical terms, QE means that central banks create money out of nothing to buy securities, such as government bonds. This new money swells the size of bank reserves by the quantity of assets purchased and that’s why this programme is called Quantitative Easings. The money supply is intended to flood financial institutions with capital in an effort to stimulate lending and increase liquidity.
Much of the governments’ debt is held by banks in the Eurozone and the ECB wants them to give more credits. If the European Central Bank buys government bonds, their prices rise and profitability drop even more. This is a liquidity-providing operation that weakens the value of the euro. This depreciation makes European exports cheaper and competitive, and ultimately, helps in recovering. In addition, as a result of the stimulus to internal and external consumption, the ECB combats the risk of deflation, a widespread and prolonged drop in prices, as well as the high unemployment.
The long term refinancing operation (LTRO) is a cheap loan scheme for European banks that was announced by the European Central Bank towards the end of 2011 in a bid to help ease the eurozone crisis.
Round one was carried out on 21 December, when banks took €489 billion from the European Central Bank. The loans are due to be repaid within three years at a rate of 1%, and a second round will be launched on 28 February, with the results of how much money was requested due on 29 February.
As the eurozone crisis has escalated, banks have become less stable and have less money to lend. The objective of the LTRO is to boost cash flow in the market and avoid a severe credit crunch or collapse of the banking system.
