Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), explains the ECB's decision to leave the key interest rates unchanged in December and responds to questions from the press.

Key quotes

"Upside risks to inflation include geopolitical tensions."

"Weather events could drive up food prices."

"Inflation may surprise on the downside if the monetary policy depresses activity more than expected."

"Market rates have fallen markedly, lie below rate embedded in staff projections."

"Inflation path is flatter than before, lowers risk of expectations are de-anchoring."

"A lot of indicators showing underlying inflation below expectations."

"Inflation outlook conditional on interest rate path embedded at cutoff."

"Wage data we have now is not declining."

"Some governors would have liked different tapering, earlier or later."

"PEPP is unrelated to rates."

About ECB's press conference

Following the ECB´s monetary policy decisions, the ECB President delivers a prepared statement and responds to questions from the press on the policy outlook. Her comments may influence the volatility of EUR and determine a short-term positive or negative trend. Her hawkish view is considered as positive, or bullish for the EUR, whereas her dovish view is considered as negative, or bearish.