ECB expected to add further stimulus

Monday, Mar 07 2016

The European Central Bank (ECB) is seen expanding its monetary stimulus this Thursday, giving the existing asset purchasing program a further boost after it prolonged the program till March 2017 back in December last year.

The decision of the ECB to expand the current asset purchasing program would be in line with its extra dovish rhetoric of late, as the Bank struggles to meet its inflation target of close to, but not exceeding 2%.

"It will therefore be necessary to review and possibly reconsider our monetary policy stance at our next meeting in early March, when the new staff macroeconomic projections become available which will also cover the year 2018," ECB President Mario Draghi said in the introductory statement after January ECB Governing Council meeting in Frankfurt.

The general consensus is that the ECB will cut the deposit rate further into negative. What else the ECB will deliver is an open question, with the Bank unlikely to build up any kind of market expectations after the blow back in December which hammered the credibility of both the ECB and Draghi and sent the euro jumping more than 400 pips higher against the US dollar.

A repeat this time round would more than likely send the euro higher, stifling any hopes for inflation or a boost to export competitiveness.

After ramping up expectations, delivering only a partial package would only be surpassed by actually doing nothing. That, however, is unlikely to be the case this Thursday, even though currency traders buying euros might desire that scenario, as the last action which fell well short of expectations back in December resulted in the eighth strongest intra-day gain for the euro in its 16-year history.

Moreover, oil is currently trading some 44% higher from it 2016 lows, possibly allowing the ECB to play it cautious in its anti-deflation fight.

Source: wbp online

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