“Lowering interest rates remains an option for the futures,” Isabel Schnabel, member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB), said on Tuesday, as reported by Reuters.
“Bond-buying is currently more effective than negative rates,” Schnabel added and noted that the QE has slightly reduced the wealth inequality in the euro area. “The Eurosystem holds about 9% of balance sheet in gold.”
Market reaction
The EUR/USD pair largely ignored these comments and was last seen trading at 1.1350, gaining 0.5% on a daily basis.