ECB’s Scicluna Sees Possibility of April Cut, Econostream Says

(Bloomberg) — A European Central Bank interest-rate cut as soon as April could be warranted and shouldn’t be ruled out, Governing Council member Edward Scicluna told Econostream Media.

“Now that the economy is helping with lower demand, we shouldn’t overburden activity any longer,” the Maltese official was cited as saying. “Even though everyone is talking about ‘June, June, June,’ April does indeed become a possibility.”

The remarks, which follow the Swiss National Bank’s surprise cut on Thursday and the Bank of England’s pivot toward an easing stance, suggest how a policy debate that seemed set on waiting until the next round of quarterly forecasts in June may turn out more fluid than investors have been led to believe.

ECB President Christine Lagarde guided toward that timing in comments this week, noting how crucial data will become available. “We will have a bit more by April and a lot more by June,” she said on Wednesday. 

“It could only take a little bit more time and some additional data to push to where April becomes a possibility,” Scicluna said. “April is not impossible or even improbable.”

The governor of the Maltese central bank said that for now, pay indications are encouraging.

“I lived through the wage-price spiral of the 70s,” he said. “I cannot see anything like a wage-price spiral.”

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