The ECB has decided "to end net purchases of securities through the App program from 1 July 2022".
As expected, the European Central Bank has left interest rates flat: the main rate remains at zero, the deposit rate at -0.50% and the marginal loan rate at 0.25%.
The ECB "intends to raise interest rates by 25 basis points at the July meeting" and "expects to raise interest rates again in September".
This was stated in a note, according to which after September "it is expected that a gradual, but sustained, pace of further increases will be appropriate".
The ECB expects inflation to remain at high levels "for a certain period of time", and "will cause it to return to the target" of 2%, Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said at a post-conference press conference. Governing Council held in Amsterdam.
In September, when the ECB expects a new rate hike after July's from 25 basis points, "a larger increase will be appropriate" if "the medium-term inflation outlook remains or deteriorates".
The president of the ECB said this, opening to the hypothesis of a 50 basis point increase as the American Fed is doing.
The Christine Lagarde press conference
The possibility that "the war will escalate" and that of a "further disruptive impact on energy supplies to the euro area" continue to be a "significant risk to growth".
"If necessary, as we have shown in the past, we are ready to deploy an adjustment of existing instruments, or new instruments", against financial fragmentation within the euro area.
This was stated by the president of the ECB, Christine Lagarde, during the press conference after the Governing Council, referring to possible instruments against a widening of spreads.
"We are committed to ensuring an adequate transmission of monetary policy, and consequently fragmentation will be avoided to the extent that it damages the transmission of monetary policy."
Very strong rise in the interest rate of European government bonds and above all of countries historically under the pressure of speculation: after the decisions of the ECB and with the press conference of President Christine Lagarde, the yield of the Italian 10-year BTP reached 3.58 % with an increase of over 20 basis points, while the spread reached 214 basis points.
The rate hike on 10-year bonds in Spain, Portugal and even France is higher than 10 basis points.
Sales flow in Piazza Affari after the decisions of the ECB and with the start of the press conference by President Christine Lagarde: Milan loses 1.5%, with Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Paris fluctuating on a decrease of one percentage point.
The Madrid Stock Exchange is down 0.8%, with London down 0.7%.
The euro remains fairly stable above 1.07 against the dollar.
Oil is calm, gas price increases by 8% to 86 euros in Amsterdam.
In Piazza Affari, in particular, strong drops in Iveco shares which fell by 5% with a move to the auction of volatility and Tenaris which dropped by four points.
In contrast, Unicredit, which rises by one percentage point, with Bper and Intesa positive.