ECB: Q&A Begins; Unanimous Decision To Cut By 25bps

The ECB's Q&A has begun:

Q: Why did you cut by 25bp and not 50bp? Is the market right to anticipate that you cut by another 50bp end-year?

A1 - 25bps Cut Was Unanimous

• "We decided to cut the DFR by 25bp and that was a unanimous decision".
• "We looked at data through the prism of our three key criteria. Incoming data confirm our previous projections and comforts us in our confidence that inflation will return to target in a timely manner".
• "Given the gradual disinflationary process, it was appropriate to cut the DFR at this meeting".
• Lagarde also notes that the current level of domestic inflation is "not satisfactory". 

A2 - Direction Of Policy Is "Pretty Obvious, But Not Pre-determined"

• "We shall remain data dependent which is particularly justified given the uncertainty. We shall decide meeting by meeting".
• "Our path, of which the declining path is obvious, is not predetermined in terms of sequence or volume".
• "Data dependency does not mean data point dependency. We are not fixated on one single number. I say this because September will deliver a low reading of inflation. But we are looking at a whole range of data".