MNI BRIEF: ECB Reflected On Future Policy Strategies -Accounts

European Central Bank Governing Council members reflected on possible strategies for future monetary policy in the last meeting in October, pointing to the next meeting in December which will come with a new set of projections and further data on how recent shocks were affecting inflation and growth, ECB accounts published on Thursday showed.

While the view was expressed that the rate-cutting cycle had come to an end, and that the ECB’s stance should not be affected by political decisions like the postponement or not of the ETS2 emissions-trading scheme, another view was expressed that the GC must remain open-minded with regards a further rate cut and that the bar for policy action should not be seen as higher than normal.

The ECB shared the view that staff baseline projections from September had not changed materially, and the December projections would probably paint a picture similar to that seen in the September. As in the last meeting, some members saw inflation risks tilted to the downside and only a few to the upside