Minutes from the last ECB meeting now published 5 Oct
Essentially it's a reworking of the ECB statement/Draghi's comments
- There was broad agreement to emphasise, as on previous occasions, the need for monetary policy to remain persistent and patient. A very substantial degree of monetary accommodation was still necessary for inflation pressures to build up.
- For the present meeting, this implied confirming that all elements of the Governing Council's forward guidance would be maintained, including the implied sequencing of policy instruments embedded in the forward guidance, and reiterating the Governing Council's continued readiness to increase the size and/or duration of its asset purchases, if needed.
- Looking ahead, there was a benefit to clear and forward-looking communication by the Governing Council, while some flexibility was required in order to appropriately prepare and calibrate the necessary degree of monetary accommodation.
- Therefore, it needed to be reiterated that the Governing Council would decide in the autumn on the calibration of its policy instruments beyond the end of the year, taking into account the expected path of inflation and the financial conditions required for a sustained return of inflation rates towards levels below, but close to, 2%.
- In this context, it needed to be highlighted that any reassessment of the monetary policy stance was based on the Governing Council's assessment of the medium-term outlook for price stability.
EURUSD and GBPUSD lower as yen demand prevails and USDJPY drops below 112.50
Full minutes here
