In an interview published on Sunday, ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos reiterated that ECB decided to end asset purchases in Q3. “In my opinion, there’s no reason why this shouldn’t happen in July,” he said.
As for rate hike, “it could be months, weeks or days” after ending the asset purchases. “July is possible, but that’s not to say it’s likely,” he added.
After the first hike, “we are driven by data, not by markets. Markets can sometimes be wrong. Within the Governing Council we haven’t discussed any predetermined path for rate rises.”