Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Accordingly, the Governing Council will continue to monitor all developments over the period ahead very closely
– ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet, at Thursday’s press conference.
Code for: don’t wait up for an ECB rate hike in the near future, mes amis. The phrase would otherwise have been “strong vigilance” or “heightened alertness,” neither of which appear in Thursday’s statement.
That’s according to the guide to ECB policy language put together by RBS, which we referred to earlier. Money markets appear to have received the nuance loud and clear…
…which, given the rather too relaxed state of the Sonia curve above, with UK inflation as it is, leads us to ask if it’s going to be the Bank of England that ends up hiking first.
And wouldn’t that be a surprise.
Related link:
Old Lady conspiracy theories – FT Alphaville
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