Preview: The European Central Bank Rate Decision

With the Brexit negations dominating the news flow over the last few weeks, you may forget there are other events taking place. On Thursday, the European Central Bank will announce its decision whether to increase, decrease or maintain the interest rates. The decision is scheduled to be announced at 12:45 PM UK time.

Why Is The Announcement Important?

The European Central Bank is the central bank for the Eurozone, the countries which have adopted the Euro, including Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. ECB’s decision to increase, decrease or maintain the interest rate has a significant impact on the financial markets because changes in interest rates affect the exchange rate of the Euro, so it is one of the must-watch economic events in the calendar.

Expectations

The European Central Bank has not changed its interest rates since March 2016 and analysts are forecasting that the rates will also remain unchanged in the upcoming meeting.

All eyes will be on the European Central Banks President, Mario Draghi’s speech shortly after making the announcement. Hot topics will involve the Italian and the Brexit process, which has developed into complete chaos.

The French budget is another issue to address for the ECB after the French President Emmanuel Macron gave in to the recent anti-government protests by the ”yellow vest” movement which will cause France to exceed the European Union’s budget deficit ceiling next year.

Other ECB data releases to keep an eye out:

ECB Marginal Lending Facility (12:45 PM London time)

• Previous: 0.25%
• Forecast: 0.25%

ECB Deposit Facility Rate (12:45 PM London time)

• Previous: -0.40%
• Forecast: -0.40%

This article is written by a GO Markets Analyst and is based on their independent analysis. They remain fully responsible for the views expressed as well as any remaining error or omissions. Trading Forex and Derivatives carries a high level of risk.

Sources: Go Markets MT4, Google, Datawrapper