Geldpolitik: EZB steuert auf dritte Zinserhöhung im Dezember zu

Frankfurt - The European Central Bank (ECB) has decided to keep interest rates unchanged for now, following in the footsteps of the US Federal Reserve. ECB President Christine Lagarde, who will step down from her position in February, stated that the central bankers debated whether an interest rate increase was warranted. However, they agreed that staying neutral was sufficient for the time being.

Lagarde's comments have fueled market expectations that the ECB will raise interest rates for the third time this year in December. If there are no "significant developments," the direction of monetary policy will be clear for everyone, Lagarde remarked. Commerzbank Chief Economist Jörg Kraemer expects an interest rate hike in December, while also warning financial markets about the rising bond yields and indirectly advising against excessive interest rate hikes.

At this stage, the ECB and the Fed may continue to move in lockstep, with many market participants anticipating another rate increase from the US Federal Reserve in six weeks. The Fed raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time in three years in September, while the ECB had already done so twice. Consequently, the US interest rate remains higher than the Eurozone's rate of 2.5 percent for the foreseeable future.