, Columnist
How Low Can Europe’s Sub-Zero Rates Go? Not Much Further
The ECB's hand may be stayed by critically weak banks and the risk of trade hostilities with the U.S.
Don't expect Mario Draghi to throw off the shackles.
Photographer: baona/Getty Images
This article is for subscribers only.
To get John Authers' newsletter delivered directly to your inbox, sign up here.
Much commentary around the European Central Bank’s much anticipated meeting has implied that it effectively faces no limit. In other words, with the zero bound now breached and rates negative in much of the euro zone, there is hope that the central bank is without restraint in how much it can cut. And the direction of euro zone interest rates has largely been in one direction: down.