Today, the ECB followed the recent move by the OECD and announced a downwards revision in its 2019 growth estimate for the eurozone, lowering it from 1.7% to 1.1%. During his press conference, Mario Draghi added that although the eurozone economy is still expanding, it is doing so at a weaker pace. This adjustment coupled with a reduced inflation forecast led the ECB to announce an additional TLTRO (Targeted Longer-Term Refinancing Operation) to provide banks with continued cheap funding.

Today, the OECD announced a significant downwards revision in its 2019 growth estimate for the eurozone, moving from 1.8% to 1%. We expect that the ECB will also adjust its growth expectations from the December assumption of 1.7%. However, at this stage it remains uncertain as to whether the ECB will adjust its current policy by providing additional TLTROs (Targeted Longer-Term Refinancing Operations) to provide banks with cheap funding.

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