| Source | |
| Measures | Interest rate on the main refinancing operations that provide the bulk of liquidity to the banking system; |
| Usual Effect | 'Actual' greater than 'Forecast' is good for currency; |
| Frequency | Scheduled 8 times per year; |
| Next Release | |
| FF Notes | The rate decision is usually priced into the market, so it tends to be overshadowed by the ECB Press Conference, held 45 minutes later. Source changed release frequency from monthly to eight times per year as of Jan 2015; |
Why Traders
Care | Short term interest rates are the paramount factor in currency valuation - traders look at most other indicators merely to predict how rates will change in the future; |
| Derived Via | The 6 members of the ECB Executive Board and 15 of the 19 governors of the Euro area central banks vote on where to set the rate, via rotation. The split of votes is not publicly revealed; |
| Also Called | Interest Rates, Refi Rate, Repo Rate, Minimum Bid Rate; |
| Acro Expand | European Central Bank (ECB); |
