ECB forum with key central bankers from US and Europe
Key levels at the start of the forum:
- Gold, plus $13.16 or 0.17% at $1870.89
- S&P index -16.84 points or -0.47% at 3555.82
- NASDAQ index -18.92 points or -0.16% at 11767.50
- Dow industrial average -150.69 points or -0.51% at 29246
- 10 year yield 0.902%, -7.2 basis points
- 30 year 1.673%, -6.8 basis points
- EURUSD 1.1814
- GBPUSD 1.3149
- USDJPY 105.13
- USDCHF 0.9138
- USDCAD 1.3105
- AUDUSD 0.7266
- NZDUSD 0.6875
Powell initial comments:
- US recovery faster and stronger than expected
- recovery uneven and incomplete, virus poses risk
- people may lose confidence it is safe to go out
- vaccine good news for the medium-term
- to soon to assess implications for economic outlook
- on election, says good time for institutions to work
- crisis will require a response from all government
- have not experienced the downside scenarios we had worried about
- there is no full recovery without confidence
- will need to do more, Congress may need to do more
- we been in an air of low rates for a decade
- this is not a time for complacency
- Banks have it done well so far in this crisis
- increasing inequality holds back the US economy
- crisis is accelerating a lot of technological change
- we are recovering to a more tech economy, worry it may make it more difficult for some workers
- we'll see acceleration of automation, telework
- committed to evaluating costs, benefits of digital currency. Not yet made a decision on digital currency's
- main focus on whether digital currency could improve payment system
- concerned by risk of long-term economic harm of virus
BOE Bailey initial comments:
- vaccine might start to reduce uncertainty
- crisis raises question on how to regulate nonbanks
- banking system has so far passed test of Covid crisis
- best outcome all around is for a post Brexit trade deal
- financial sector is ready for Brexit
- he will not prejudge outcome of Brexit trade talks
- we had a story of low productivity rates for the last 10 years and that is feeding low interest rates
ECB Lagarde:
- clearly seeing a little less uncertainty
- don't want to be exuberant about vaccination
- monetary policy and fiscal policy has been a bridge to the other side
- businesses no longer see Covid restrictions is one off, impairs decisions
- critical to maintain the financing conditions needed to keep the economy operating
- crisis will have long-lasting scars on young, women
- digital currency is will be a complement to cash
