Euribor rates tick up as ECB rate cut hopes fade

Key Euribor bank-to-bank lending rates ticked up on Friday after comments from a clutch of European Central Bank policymakers since the bank's monthly meeting eroded hopes for another official rate cut. Joerg Asmussen, a member of the ECB's Executive Board, said last week he would be "very reluctant" about the ECB cutting its deposit rate - now at zero - any further, adding that "our (monetary) policy is very accommodative".
The ECB kept rates on hold this month despite new forecasts suggesting the euro area economy will contract next year. On Friday, three-month Euribor rates, traditionally the main gauge of unsecured bank-to-bank lending, ticked up to 0.186 percent from 0.185 percent. The six-month rate inched higher to 0.320 percent from 0.319 percent while the one-week rate dropped to 0.082 percent from 0.089 percent. Dollar-priced bank-to-bank Euribor lending rates were lower, with three-month rates falling to 0.55000 percent from 0.57462 percent.