Will ECB minutes shed light on when the central bank will raise interest rates?
How long do European Central Bank rate-setters expect to keep buying bonds and when might they raise interest rates from their ultra-low levels? More light is due to be shed on these crucial questions when the minutes of last month’s ECB policy meeting are published on Thursday.
Investors are likely to scour the minutes for any clues on how the debate is shaping up between ECB policymakers over the big decisions they are preparing to make at their next policy meeting on December 16.
Most investors expect the ECB to say next month that its flagship €1.85tn bond-buying programme, which it launched last year in response to the pandemic, will come to an end in March 2022. However, the central bank is widely expected to step up its longer standing asset purchase programme at the same time to limit any sell-off in bond markets.