Columbia Threadneedle: Lagarde surprises with hawkish comments
Dave Chappelle, Fixed Income Strategist at Columbia Threadneedle, responds to today's ECB meeting:
'Whilst the ECB rate cut and statement raised few eyebrows, the staff forecasts for inflation were somewhat softer than many had expected. The real surprise, however, was at the press conference, where President Lagarde delivered a quite hawkish stance.
Most were expecting the data dependency, meeting by meeting standard lines that central banks have favoured over the course of the last year, but other comments around approaching the end of the monetary cycle certainly were not the consensus view today.
We still believe that the continued uncertainty around how trade negotiations might play out, will likely leave growth and inflation prospects supportive of further rate moves over the coming months.'
