ECB expects Eurozone economy to remain stuck in low gear – Danske Bank

Today’s European Central Bank meeting will mostly be remembered for Mario Draghi’s last press conference and not its monetary policy messages, according to Danske Bank.

Key Quotes:  

“Today’s ECB monetary policy was uneventful in terms of new policy signals as discussions mainly centred on Draghi’s legacy.”

“With QE and tiering not effective yet, there was little news to gauge. Draghi refrained from giving specificities on tiering, but indicated that ISIN limits were self-imposed.”

“The ECB’s assessment of the inflation and growth outlook has not changed much since the September meeting. Draghi continued to reiterate downside risks to growth and a concern with too low inflation in the euro area, while still referring to tight labour markets as the most positive aspect of the current macro environment. However, the October PMIs pointed to the weakest inflationary pressures in years and the recent service sector weakness does not point to a return to potential growth anytime soon. This view seems to be shared by the ECB, with moderate but positive growth expected to drag out into Q4.”