Key Euribor rates flat; rate expectations in focus

Key euro-priced bank-to-bank lending rates remained at the previous day's levels on Friday on unchanged expectations that another European Central Bank interest rate increase will come before the end of summer. The ECB raised euro zone interest rates by a quarter of a percent to 1.25 percent last week, putting an end to almost two years of record low borrowing costs.
Two-thirds of the 62 economists polled by Reuters after the hike expect another by July at the latest. Expectations of policy tightening and a bank-led reduction in excess money market liquidity have been the main drivers behind a rise of more than a quarter in bank-to-bank lending rates since the start of the year.
The three-month Euribor rate - traditionally the main gauge of unsecured interbank euro lending and a mix of interest rate expectations and banks' appetite for lending - remained at 1.332 percent while rates in other maturities held on an upward path.
Six-month rates rose to 1.631 percent from 1.629 percent, longer-term 12-month rates rose to 2.104 percent from 2.102 percent and shorter-term one-week rates increased to 1.151 percent from 1.149 percent. EONIA overnight interest rates fixed at 1.146 percent on Thursday, up from 1.139 percent. Overnight rates often jump at the beginning of a new ECB reserves period.
Excess liquidity in the money market is currently around 21 billion euros, according to Reuters calculations. Banks edged up their intake of ECB funding by around 10 billion euros on Tuesday, taking 83.7 billion in 1-month funding and 94 billion in weekly funding. Focus is intensifying on what the ECB will do with its unlimited liquidity policy going forward.
In March it left all its operations at full allotment until July, putting its exit strategy on hold for the second quarter running. But comments in recent days from policymakers Juergen Stark, Mario Draghi and Axel Weber have boosted expectations that the bank will soon restart the phasing-out process. It is already back to its pre-crisis range of funding operations, however. Three-month loans are again the longest maturity on offer and banks have now paid back all the six-month and 12-month loans the ECB injected during the turmoil.