Christine Lagarde said the ECB kept key interest rates unchanged at its March policy meeting. She answered questions from the press on the decision.<\/p>\n
She said the ECB will monitor commodity markets and any supply bottlenecks. She also said it will watch firms\u2019 selling prices.<\/p>\n
She said the ECB will track demand indicators and wage measures. She referred to a baseline case where higher energy costs feed through to other prices.<\/p>\n
She described a severe scenario where oil and gas prices rise and then return to the baseline path by the end of the forecast horizon. She added that, in this severe scenario, the oil price falls back after the end of the projection horizon.<\/p>\n
She said there is a difference between the scenarios.<\/p>\n
Looking back at the statements from March 2025, we were told to watch for different scenarios, especially a severe one involving energy shocks. It now appears that the path taken over the last year was closer to this more difficult forecast. We need to position ourselves based on this reality, not the old baseline from a year ago.<\/p>\n
The “severe scenario” of a significant oil price rise did materialize, as Brent crude briefly touched $115 a barrel in late 2025 but has now pulled back to around $90. This sustained volatility suggests that selling call options on oil futures above $100 could be a prudent strategy to collect premium. We should also watch natural gas storage levels, which are surprisingly robust, potentially capping any upside there.<\/p>\n
We were told to be attentive to wage trackers, and this has proven critical. With wage growth from Q4 2025 still showing a 4.5% increase, Eurozone inflation remains sticky at 3.1% as of last month. This makes it highly unlikely the ECB will cut rates in the next quarter, so we should consider short positions on near-term interest rate futures.<\/p>\n
The focus on demand indicators last year is now paramount as we see signs of a slowdown. The latest manufacturing PMI for the Eurozone dipped to 48.5, indicating a slight contraction and raising concerns about corporate earnings. Buying put options on major European indices could be an effective hedge against a potential downturn in the coming months.<\/p>\n
Create your live VT Markets account<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0start trading<\/a>\u00a0now. <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Lagarde said ECB left rates unchanged, monitoring commodities, bottlenecks, prices, wages, and energy-driven inflation scenarios differences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":17025,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-live-updates"],"acf":{"acf_article_selection_author":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\t\t