Lagarde speech: Not seeing a lot of improvement in underlying inflation

Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), is delivering her remarks on the policy outlook and responding to questions from the press following the Governing Council's decision to hike key rates by 50 basis points in March.

Key takeaways

"Not seeing a lot of improvement in underlying inflation."

"Beginning to see transmission of policy through the credit channel."

"Not yet had to decide whether Transmission Protection Instrument (TPI) is needed, but could be the case at some point."

Meanwhile, ECB Vice President  Luis de Guindos said that banks in the Eurozone were resilient with a robust liquidity position. De Guindos further argued that higher rates were positive for the margins of the banks and added that the exposure to Cresit Suisse was "quite limited."

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.