EUR/USD: Talking heads at ECB cluster around summer

On Thursday, a long line-up of European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers appeared in public with some of them sharing their views about when the ECB should start cutting interest rates. 

The official line, provided by Christine Lagarde at the press conference following the March ECB meeting, was that the Governing Council would review interest rates in June.

Following the meeting, however, Governor of the Bank of France Francois Villeroy de Galhau stirred up markets by hinting that an interest-rate cut might come as early as April.

His comments suggested that two camps might be forming at the ECB, favoring either a spring or summer rate cut. 

On Wednesday, the Governor of the Bank of Austria and ECB Governing Council member Robert Holzmann joined the June camp. 

Early Thursday ECB Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras seemed to back the case for a spring rate cut, adding that he didn’t buy the argument that the ECB could not cut rates before the Fed, and that four rate cuts in 2024 seemed reasonable.

Also on Thursday, ECB Governing Council member Klaas Knot said he believed the ECB would start cutting interest rates in June.

Vice-President of the ECB Luis de Guindos, speaking in Barcelona on Thursday, said “The ECB should have sufficient information in June to begin making decisions about monetary policy,” according to Bloomberg News