Slight Softening Of Implied Rates Following Morning ECB-speak

Comments from ECB's Nagel, Villeroy & Kazaks prompt some softening of ECB implied rates.

• OIS pricing shows just over 100bps of cuts through '24 (vs. ~95bps yesterday afternoon), sticking within yesterday’s post-ECB range.
• Euribor futures are +1.5 to +4.5 through the blues.
• April/June cut pricing has also extended a touch (4-5bps of cuts priced through April, 25bps through June).
• The usually hawkish Nagel flagged the prospect of an ECB rate cut "before the summer break" i.e. July or earlier.
• Villeroy expects the first cut to come in April or June (his pre-March meeting commentary leaned dovish, warning against cutting rates too late).
• Most recently, Kazaks stressed the need for patience, even once the easing cycle has begun. Still, he conceded "once the ECB starts, it will likely end up cutting on a more continuous and extended basis than is currently discounted in markets.”
• ECB hawk Holzmann is scheduled to speak at 0900GMT.
• Main focus today will be on the US labour market data.
• The details of the final Eurozone Q4 GDP release may also be of interest.