ECB to Hold Rates, Delay Exit Debate Until March

February 4, 2010 Share Print 0

The European Central Bank is expected to keep interest rates at a record low of 1.0 percent at its meeting on Thursday, and hold off until March before looking at an unwinding strategy for crisis support measures.
[mserve id=”Central_Bank_ECB.jpg” align=”left” width=”291″ caption=”European Central Bank” alt=”European Central Bank ECB” title=”European Central Bank “]

All 86 economists in a recent Reuters poll expected the ECB to keep rates at their record low of 1.0 percent this month and only two saw any change before the middle of the year.

ING senior economist Carsten Brzeski said thrill-seekers could safely disregard Thursday’s monthly meeting, just three weeks after the January decision, and come back in March.

“Then, the ECB will present the latest staff forecasts and probably also (decide) whether and when the ECB’s open market operations return to flexible tenders and limited allotments,” he said.

CNBC

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.

Bio
Twitter
Google+
Latest Posts

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse

Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.