Eurozone recovery remains stuck in first gear

The outcome of last week’s August meeting of the ECB’s governing council was in line with market expectations, with no changes to monetary policy.

Indeed, the meeting and subsequent press conference were largely uneventful, with the ECB very much on the sidelines for now as it assesses the impact of the major policy changes that it announced in June.

At the June meeting, the ECB cuts its main interest rates to record low levels. The key refinancing rate was reduced from 0.25% to 0.15%, while the deposit rate was moved into negative territory, having been reduced from 0% to –0.1%.