economist Lee Sue Ann at UOB Group assessed the latest ECB event.

“The interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility were left unchanged at 0.00%, 0.25% and -0.50%, respectively.”

“The ECB will continue its purchases under the pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP) with a total envelope of EUR1.350tn.”

“Going forward, how the COVID-19 pandemic evolves will remain important to the economic recovery. The upward trend in new cases is worrying, where numbers have climbed in Spain and France since mid-August. For now, none of the negative developments since June may have been sufficient for the ECB to announce additional monetary stimulus. But the prospect of further loosening of monetary conditions before year-end remains high, and the ECB will be erring heavily on the side of caution, especially if the inflation picture remains weak.”