MNI POLICY: ECB Dissenters Looked For Hold, Not Smaller Hike

Around four Governing Council members argued against the European Central Bank’s decision to raise rates by 50 basis points on Thursday, with all of the dissenters preferring no hike at all rather than a smaller 25-basis-point move, MNI understands.

Overall, support for the 50bp hike was strong. While there was agreement on more neutral guidance for future policy, all policymakers around the table accepted the need to get inflation down considerably from current levels, though some had a more hawkish outlook than others, MNI also understands.

The ECB decided to hike its key suite of rates by 50 bps, taking the benchmark deposit facility rate to 3.0% -- a cumulative 350 bps above the lowest level seen during the global pandemic.