Recently, financial market traders have significantly scaled back their bets on further interest rate hikes by the European Central Bank (ECB). This shift is primarily driven by signs of easing inflationary pressures and weakening economic momentum in the eurozone. Latest data shows that core inflation has declined for several consecutive months, while the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) remains in contraction territory, signaling subdued economic activity. Against this backdrop, markets now widely expect the ECB to pause its hiking cycle and potentially consider rate cuts in the second half of 2024.Previously, due to surging energy prices and a tight labor market, the ECB had raised rates by a cumulative 450 basis points since July 2022, bringing its main refinancing rate to 4.5%. However, with energy costs retreating, wage growth moderating, and weakening global demand weighing on exports, policymakers are increasingly focused on downside economic risks. Although ECB President Christine Lagarde continues to emphasize a ‘data-dependent’ approach, her rhetoric has become notably less hawkish.Pricing in interest rate futures markets indicates that investors now assign over an 80% probability to the ECB holding rates steady through June 2024, with the likelihood of a rate cut by year-end rising to nearly 60%. This shift in expectations is influencing the euro’s exchange rate and providing support to bond yields and equity valuations. Overall, traders’ reassessment of the ECB’s policy trajectory reflects a growing market consensus of caution regarding the eurozone’s economic outlook.
近期，金融市场交易员显著减少了对欧洲央行（ECB）进一步加息的押注。这一转变主要源于通胀压力出现缓和迹象，以及欧元区经济增长动能减弱。最新数据显示，欧元区核心通胀率连续数月回落，制造业采购经理人指数（PMI）持续处于收缩区间，表明经济活动疲软。在此背景下，市场普遍预期欧洲央行将暂停加息周期，甚至可能在2024年下半年考虑降息。此前，由于能源价格飙升和劳动力市场紧张，欧洲央行自2022年7月以来已累计加息450个基点，将主要再融资利率推高至4.5%。然而，随着能源成本回落、工资增长趋于温和，以及全球需求放缓拖累出口，政策制定者开始更加关注经济下行风险。欧洲央行行长拉加德虽仍强调“数据依赖”，但其措辞已不再如先前强硬。利率期货市场的定价显示，投资者目前认为欧洲央行在2024年6月前维持利率不变的概率超过80%，而年底前降息的可能性也升至近60%。这一预期变化不仅影响欧元汇率走势，也对债券收益率和股市估值构成支撑。总体来看，交易员对货币政策路径的重新评估，反映出市场对欧洲经济前景趋于谨慎的共识。
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