Rate move by the ECB still seems some time away

Last week’s meeting of the ECB Governing Council concluded with the key interest rates unchanged at –0.4% for the deposit rate and 0% for the key refi rate.

This outcome was in line with market expectations. There was also no change to the plans for its asset purchase or quantitative easing (QE) programme.

The ECB had previously announced at its December meeting that it was reducing its rate of purchases from €80bn per month back to the original rate of €60bn per month, starting in April and extending the programme until end December 2017, or beyond, if necessary.