ECB’s Šimkus: We are close to a peak or at the peak
European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council Gediminas Šimkus said on Friday, “we are close to a peak or at the peak.”
Further comments
A September pause wouldn’t mean no hikes after that.
We might see the situation of a september pause and an October hike.
I wouldn’t expect any fast cuts on interest rates.
I have doubts on cuts in 1H, it’s not a probable scenario.
The choice for September is between a 25 bps hike and unchanged rates.
The economy in the short term is weaker than projected.
I see a “soft-landing scenario in the euro area”.
Market reaction
The ECB commentary fails to move a needle around the EUR/USD, as traders await the US PCE inflation data for a fresh trading impulse. The pair is currently trading at 1.0961, down 0.09% on the day.