In the accounts of April 21-22 meeting, ECB said that risk-free interest rates and sovereign bond yields had “largely moved sideways” since March and “decoupled from developments in US markets” since late February. Broader lending conditions have “remained favorable”.
“This was widely seen as validating the Governing Council’s March decision to significantly increase the pace of net asset purchases under the PEPP, effectively insulating euro area financing conditions from global spillovers and preventing a premature tightening,” the accounts added.
Looking ahead, June meeting would “provide the next opportunity to conduct a thorough assessment of financing conditions and the inflation outlook”. Also, “future pace of purchases under the PEPP was data-dependent and would continue to be based on the joint assessment of financing conditions and the inflation outlook.
