{
  "id": 3723385,
  "title": "Meeting of 22-23 July 2026",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/meeting-of-22-23-july-2026",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-27T11:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ECB Press",
    "slug": "ecb-press",
    "url": "https://www.ecb.europa.eu//press/accounts/2026/html/ecb.mg260827~f06c21fd54.en.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On the 22-23 July 2026, the Governing Council convened a meeting to discuss economic developments. The discussion began with Ms Schnabel's presentation, which highlighted the ongoing influence of geopolitical events and technological advancements on financial markets. Oil prices, particularly Brent crude, had been notably affected by the Middle East conflict and AI developments. The conflict had caused fluctuations in oil markets, with prices temporarily dropping to pre-war levels following a peace agreement announcement. However, prices remained far below their recent peaks and those before the June 10-11 meeting. Despite this, the price of longer-dated oil futures contracts remained high, indicating a potential for sustained price increases.\n\nMs Schnabel also noted that financial markets had started to decouple from oil price volatility. While oil prices experienced significant drops, the overnight index swap rate adjusted less due to limited inflation compensation. Inflation compensation, which affects interest rates expectations, rose once oil prices rebounded, surpassing pre-Governing Council meeting levels. This was partly because oil prices did not fully represent broader energy markets, with tight inventories and restricted refining capacity driving up petrol and diesel prices. Natural gas prices also remained notably above pre-war levels, and food prices were on an upward trend, with factors including weather-related risks and heatwaves impacting production and prices.\n\nThe macroeconomic outlook had improved, leading to higher expectations for inflation and interest rates. Although inflation fixings had slightly decreased in the very near term, they remained stable over the medium term, suggesting that the drop in oil prices did not alleviate inflation concerns. Long-term inflation expectations remained anchored, and risks were still tilted to the upside. Euro area risk-free rates rose due to both increased inflation compensation and higher real rates, with inflation compensation having a greater impact in the short term.\n\nPolicy rate expectations remained stable in the euro area, with further rate hikes anticipated. The OIS forward curve was close to its level before the Middle East conflict, with markets expecting only one additional hike in 2026. In the US, expectations for monetary policy had remained relatively stable, but showed notable fluctuations in the period between meetings. The euro had depreciated against the US dollar following shifts in short-term rate differentials, but had since recovered partially. Equity markets continued to rise, supported by positive earnings expectations.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "Governing Council meets on 22-23 July 2026 to discuss economic developments",
    "Oil prices influenced by Middle East conflict and AI advancements",
    "Euro area policy rate expectations stable, further hikes anticipated"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Investing.com",
        "title": "ECB saw another rate hike as likely after July meeting",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/ecb-saw-another-rate-hike-as-likely-after-july-meeting",
        "published": "2026-08-27T12:21:36.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}