FX.co ★ ECB holds virtual symposium

The President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, kicked off the ECB's annual symposium virtually, during which leading central bankers discussed why the current monetary policy is not working the way it used to.

Therefore, Lagarde said the ECB will focus on increasing urgent purchases of bonds and cheap loans to banks before drafting a new stimulus package in December.

To add to that, she said that inflation in the 19-country bloc is likely to remain negative for longer than expected, especially since another economic lockdown is planned.

The Central Bank's job right now is to keep borrowing costs low enough for households, firms and governments, and to support the banking sector to stave off a credit crunch.

Lagarde also mentioned the growing investor optimism over the announced COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer, and said that even though it is 90% effective, there is not enough reason yet to relax. Nonetheless, Spain and Italy will be the first to receive the vaccine, probably in January 2021. In particular, Italy will receive 3.4 million vaccinations in January.

But despite her warning, the European stock market continued to grow unceasingly.

The gains recorded were much better than expected, with around 68% of STOXX 600 companies reporting figures that exceed preliminary data.