Lagarde Said, Support Should Not Be Withdrawn Before Seeing Clear Signals

European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said: "Support should not be withdrawn before seeing clear signals that the economy is recovering."

In an interview with Politico, Lagarde said, "We need to get the economy out of the pandemic and into the recovery phase, which has already begun. We need to anchor the recovery. Recovery should be strong and sustainable." Lagarde and other officials did not change the asset purchase program at the monetary policy meeting held last week, while the Eurozone economic forecasts were revised upwards. For the first time since December 2018, it was stated that the risks were "broadly balanced". Stating that the Pandemic Emergency Asset Purchase Program is moving in the right direction, Lagarde stated that it is too early to talk about when the program will end.

ECB Had Kept Interest Rate Fixed

The ECB (European Central Bank), which announced its interest rate decision in the past days, did not change the interest rates and the total size of the Pandemic Emergency Asset Purchase Program (PEPP). In the statement made by the ECB, it was noted that the governing council decided not to change the interest rates at its meeting today, and the policy rate was kept at zero, the deposit rate at minus 0.50 percent and the marginal funding rate at 0.25 percent.