Key Euribor bank-to-bank lending rate ticked up on Friday as policymakers sent diverging messages about the effectiveness of looser monetary policy in the euro zone. Pressure is growing on the European Central Bank to cut interest rates further after weak business survey data and a drop in German business morale in April, while loan demand in the euro zone tumbled in the first three months of the year.
ECB Vice-President Vitor Constancio reiterated on Wednesday that the ECB stood ready to act should the economy deteriorate further, saying the bank still had room to cut rates below the current record low of 0.75 percent. His colleague on the Executive Board, Joerg Asmussen, however, said that lower rates would have little impact on economies in the euro zone's crisis-stricken south, because lower interest rates are not filtering through to consumers and businesses in those countries.
On Friday, the three-month Euribor rate, traditionally the main gauge of unsecured bank-to-bank lending, rose slightly to 0.207 percent from 0.206 percent. The six-month rate remained at 0.318 percent and the one-week rate was unchanged at 0.083 percent. The overnight Eonia rate was also unchanged at 0.083 percent. Dollar-priced bank-to-bank Euribor lending rates were mixed, with three-month rates rising to 0.478 percent from 0.477 percent and one-week rates edging lower to 0.302 percent from 0.304 percent. Excess liquidity in the euro zone banking was at 317 billion euros, helping keep market rates below the ECB's refinancing rate.
Comments
Comments are closed.