Institutional: ECB wording looks more balanced than expected

On October 17, Tomasz Wieladek, chief European economist at T. Rowe Price, said that the ECB used more balanced language in its statement than the market had expected. While the ECB was talking about slowing growth, it also recognized that domestic inflation remains high and wage growth is accelerating. The ECB did not provide forward guidance on future rate cuts as it insists on making decisions on a meeting-by-meeting basis. This balanced language is a signal that the ECB wants to keep all options open. It also suggests that policy events and data will determine the ECB's response in December.