Review of financial, economic and monetary developments and policy options
Financial market developments
Mr Cœuré reviewed recent financial market developments.
Since the Governing Council’s previous monetary policy meeting on 2-3 December 2015, developments in China had reverberated across global markets. Among other indicators, the Chinese Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) had been weaker than expected, which had fuelled further concerns among market participants about growth prospects in China and had led to capital outflows. Chinese equity markets had also experienced significant declines on 4 and 7 January 2016.
Oil prices had reached 12-year lows and were still declining, with the Brent crude oil price standing at USD 27.9 per barrel at the close of 20 January 2016. This decline seemed to have been triggered by continued imbalances between supply and demand.
Euro five-year forward inflation-linked swap rates five years ahead appeared to be moving in line with commodity prices again. Following the tight correlation recorded over 2014-15 between the five-year forward rates and the spot oil price, some signs of decoupling had been observed at the end of 2015. The recent decoupling appeared to have come to a halt and the five-year forward rates had moved downwards again in the wake of lower oil prices, warranting further analysis.
The combination of developments in China and in the oil market had contributed to increased risk aversion globally, particularly in emerging market economies. The impact on emerging market economies was evident first in terms of the pressure on their currencies, either prompting a downward trend in the case of floating currencies or creating downward pressure in the case of pegged currencies. The currencies of oil-producing countries were also under pressure because of market participants’ perception that currency devaluation was a way for those economies to adjust to lower oil prices and to align prices expressed in local currencies with the costs of oil production.
Global equity and government bond markets had also been affected. Since early December the EURO STOXX 50 index had declined by around 17% and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index by close to 11%. At the same time, increased risk aversion had translated into markedly lower yields in the United States, Japan and the euro area. Until mid-January yields on lower-rated euro area government bonds had also benefited from safe-haven flows.
The implementation of the expanded asset purchase programme (APP) had resumed smoothly after the Christmas season.
Since the early December 2015 Governing Council meeting, market expectations of monetary policy action had evolved. Starting with the United States, expectations of monetary policy tightening had declined and, by 20 January, the market was pricing in only one rate hike in 2016. The entire expected interest rate path had been repriced significantly downwards, shifting the timing of subsequent policy actions by around six months. In the euro area, EONIA forward rates on 20 January 2016 had reverted to the levels prevailing before the Governing Council’s meeting on 2-3 December 2015 for most contracts, pointing to expectations of additional ECB measures in the first half of 2016.
The global environment and economic and monetary developments in the euro area
Mr Praet reviewed the global environment and recent economic and monetary developments in the euro area.
Global growth remained modest and uneven, amid heightened uncertainty, with continued moderate growth in advanced economies and weak developments in emerging market economies. The global composite output PMI had declined slightly in December, while remaining in expansionary territory. Global trade had continued to recover from low levels, though at a somewhat slower pace. Quarter-on-quarter growth in global goods imports had weakened from 2.3% in September to 1.8% in October. The global PMI for new export orders had also declined in December, but remained above the threshold of 50, suggesting continued, albeit modest, trade growth for the period ahead.
Global inflation remained low, with annual consumer price inflation in the OECD area standing at 0.7% in November, after 0.6% in October. Excluding food and energy, inflation had been unchanged from October, at 1.8%. Since early December 2015, Brent crude oil prices had fallen by 36% to around USD 28 per barrel, while non-oil commodity prices were only slightly lower than in early December, by around 3%. Over the same period, the euro had appreciated by 4.6% in nominal effective terms vis-à-vis the currencies of 38 major trading partners.
In the euro area, real GDP had continued to grow at a moderate pace, rising by 0.3%, quarter on quarter, in the third quarter of 2015, largely driven by private consumption on the back of higher real disposable income for households, while investment dynamics remained weak. Industrial production (excluding construction) had also been weak in N