MNI: ECB Will Know By May Whether March Was Last Hike-Centeno

The European Central Bank needs to wait until its May meeting before it will know whether its hiking cycle concluded with March’s 50-basis-point hike, Bank of Portugal Governor Mario Centeno told an event on Monday, adding that no Governing Council member thinks it would be appropriate to cease reinvestments under the Asset Purchase Programme after June.

Centeno said he was “thankful” that the ECB was no longer giving rates guidance whilst also insisting that it was assessing its stance on a meeting-by-meeting basis. (See MNI INTERVIEW: ECB Rate Peak Set To Be Lower-Gonzalez-Paramo)

The ECB will continue to reduce its balance sheet after June but will need to find a path consistent with the monetary policy stance to avoid any possible interference, he said.