ECB Mersch Hints No Bond Buys, More Rate Hikes
By Market News International || July 18, 2011 at 10:45 GMT
–Adds Comments On Monetary Policy, ECB Non-Standard Measures, EFSF
FRANKFURT (MNI) – The European Central Bank’s sovereign bond buying
program has reached its limit, ECB Governing Council member Yves Mersch
suggested in a strong hint that, contrary to market rumors, the ECB did
not intervene in the bond market last week.
Japan’s Nikkei news agency asked Mersch whether the ECB is close to
its limit regarding on buying sovereign bonds as part of the Securities
Markets Program.
“We took action facing an institutional vacuum in Europe,” Mersch
replied, referring to the ECB’s decision in May 2010 to start buying
bonds. “At that time we were confronted with a slow decision-making
process by governments. But finally the rescue umbrella was launched.
Now, we can consequently defend the strict distinction between monetary
and fiscal policy.”
The ECB had not bought bonds for over three months, but as the
crisis threatened to spread to Italy last week,
there were rumours that
the ECB had intervened to buy Italian sovereigns. The ECB will release
figures at 1330 GMT today showing whether that was indeed the case.
Some uncertainty may remain, since today’s data would only show
bonds bought the first half of last week – though that is when the
intervention was rumored to be.
Mersch said that the ECB had raised rates “in order to maintain the
effective long-term interest rate in the euro area at a low level” and
suggested that more tightening may be in the pipeline.
While he said that the ECB had not announced “a series of rate
hikes” and is “never pre-committed,” he also observed that “risks to
growth are balanced, while risks to price stability lie on the upside,”
and the monetary pillar show no credit constraints.
At the same time, real interest rates are still negative, Mersch
observed, and he warned that this in itself is a concern for the
Governing Council.”The whole available theory tells us about the danger
of too-long periods of negative real rates. This is also an argument and
we discuss it at every meeting in order to reach our goal of price
stability in the medium term,” Mersch said.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Luxembourg also noted that the
recent economic slowdown had already been embedded in the central bank’s
projections, suggesting that it would not be a cause for the ECB to
reconsider its desire to lift rates.
Mersch also backed calls made by ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet
and Executive Board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi over the weekend to allow
the EFSF to intervene in the secondary bond market. However, he said the
question of whether to increase the volume of the fund is of secondary
importance.
“For me it is not the question of size. It is not a matter of
volume, but of implementation. If you agree upon the process, how to use
the umbrella efficiently and effectively, the question of size will be
of minor importance,” Mersch said. “If you rate the question of the
volume too high, the danger of contagion moves to the front.”
Mersch said the ECB’s own non-standard liquidity providing measures
will remain in place for “as long as it seems appropriate” in order to
“guarantee the transmission of monetary policy for the whole euro area.”
“If uncertainty diminishes, we can gradually continue our exit,” he
added. “We are providing money to banks, but our goal is price
stability. The so-called separation between liquidity management and
monetary policy is in place.”