ECB’s Kazimir: Key for me will be January repricing

Sagar Dua FXStreet

European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member and Governor of the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS), Peter Kazimir, said during the European trading session on Tuesday that the interest rate hike at the policy meeting earlier this month was “unavoidable”. Kazimir added that energy prices remained key factor for higher inflationary pressures.

Comments

Rate hike was unavoidable.

Energy prices remain key factor.

Key for me will be January repricing.

We need flexibility, we have enough time.

Market reaction

The Euro (EUR) was seen under pressure against the US Dollar (USD) during the release of ECB Kazimirs comments; however, the pressure seems to be coming from further appreciation in the US Dollar. As of writing, EUR/USD is down 0.21% to near 1.1345.

ECB FAQs

What is the ECB and how does it influence the Euro?

The European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany, is the reserve bank for the Eurozone. The ECB sets interest rates and manages monetary policy for the region. The ECB primary mandate is to maintain price stability, which means keeping inflation at around 2%. Its primary tool for achieving this is by raising or lowering interest rates. Relatively high interest rates will usually result in a stronger Euro and vice versa. The ECB Governing Council makes monetary policy decisions at meetings held eight times a year. Decisions are made by heads of the Eurozone national banks and six permanent members, including the President of the ECB, Christine Lagarde.

What is Quantitative Easing (QE) and how does it affect the Euro?

In extreme situations, the European Central Bank can enact a policy tool called Quantitative Easing. QE is the process by which the ECB prints Euros and uses them to buy assets – usually government or corporate bonds – from banks and other financial institutions. QE usually results in a weaker Euro. QE is a last resort when simply lowering interest rates is unlikely to achieve the objective of price stability. The ECB used it during the Great Financial Crisis in 2009-11, in 2015 when inflation remained stubbornly low, as well as during the covid pandemic.

What is Quantitative tightening (QT) and how does it affect the Euro?

Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse of QE. It is undertaken after QE when an economic recovery is underway and inflation starts rising. Whilst in QE the European Central Bank (ECB) purchases government and corporate bonds from financial institutions to provide them with liquidity, in QT the ECB stops buying more bonds, and stops reinvesting the principal maturing on the bonds it already holds. It is usually positive (or bullish) for the Euro.

Author

Sagar Dua

FXStreet

Sagar Dua is associated with the financial markets from his college days. Along with pursuing post-graduation in Commerce in 2014, he started his markets training with chart analysis.

AUD/USD hits nine-week lows below 0.7000 on RBA Bullock's remarks

AUD/USD reverses a brief uptick and turns lower to hit nine-week lows below 0.7000 in the European morning on Tuesday, as traders digest cautious remarks from Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Michele Bullock during the press conference. Earlier on, the RBA raised the cash rate to 4.60%, as widely expected, leaving the door open to further rate hikes if needed.

USD/JPY consolidates near 157.50 as a bullish USD counters intervention risks

USD/JPY struggles to capitalize on the overnight bounce from a one-week low, consolidating around 157.50 in the Asian session on Tuesday. Trump's concerns about the Japanese Yen's weakness fueled speculation about another US-Japan joint intervention. This, along with the hawkish BoJ, underpins the JPY and caps the currency pair. Meanwhile, rising Fed rate-hike bets and oil-driven inflation fears continue to push US bond yields to multi-year highs, keeping the US Dollar pinned near a two-month high and supporting the pair.

Gold: Bulls seem hesitant as Fed hike bets, higher bond yields, and bullish USD cap upside

Gold clings to modest recovery gains through the first half of the European session, albeit it lacks follow-through and remains below $4,150. Moreover, the bearish fundamental backdrop keeps the precious metal within striking distance of the lowest level since August 4, around the $4,100 neighborhood touched on Monday, and warrants caution before positioning for any meaningful appreciation.

Chainlink trims gains after CCIP 2.0 launch, Swift ledger integration

Chainlink (LINK) edges below $15.00 on Tuesday, trimming its 10% gains from the previous day, driven by the launch of its new Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol 2.0 and Swift ledger integration for tokenized deposits and 24/7 cross-border payments.

Focus turns to US job openings

In the euro area, focus turns to the September flash inflation print for Spain which will give the first indication of where the euro area data on Friday lands. We expect a modest rise in headline due to higher energy costs and a small increase in core inflation. We also receive the European Commission's business survey for September.

Fed vs BoJ: Both hiked. The market only believes one of them – and the chart shows which

The Fed and the BoJ have just done something remarkably similar. Both central banks raised interest rates by 25 bps last week, both are confronting inflation risks, and both signal that future decisions will depend on incoming economic data.