{"text":[[{"start":10.4,"text":"The European Central Bank can keep its interest rates steady at 2 per cent for the time being provided there are no major shocks, the new governor of the Austrian central bank told the Financial Times."}],[{"start":23.98,"text":"“For now, this interest rate cycle has come to its end, or very close to it,” said Martin Kocher said in his first interview to international media since joining the ECB’s top decision-making body this month."}],[{"start":40.120000000000005,"text":"Kocher was speaking after the ECB on Thursday decided to keep interest rates unchanged at 2 per cent for the second meeting in a row, highlighting the resilience of the economy in the euro area despite higher US tariffs on most of the bloc’s goods."}],[{"start":58.510000000000005,"text":"Previously the ECB had halved borrowing costs in eight steps, starting in mid-2024."}],[{"start":65.95,"text":"“Without major changes” in data, the arguments that led to this month’s decision will “to some extent, continue to hold” in the next ECB meetings, he said."}],[{"start":78.65,"text":"Kocher started his job as governor of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) this month after the six-year term of his predecessor Robert Holzmann ended."}],[{"start":90.54,"text":"Holzmann made his name as the most hawkish member of the ECB’s governing council and repeatedly was the sole dissenting voice in decisions to cut rates."}],[{"start":101.64,"text":"Asked about his own personal stance, Kocher said that he would “currently lean towards the cautious side” of monetary policy and advise against taking on too many risks with regard to inflation. “That is an Austrian tradition,” he said."}],[{"start":118.33,"text":"He also stressed that monetary policy has “become more pragmatic” in recent decades as it is more data driven: “The ECB Governing Council is not the place for ideology but the engine room of monetary policy, where optimal decisions should be made on the basis of the data available.”"}],[{"start":139.23,"text":"Following Thursday’s decision, traders are pricing in a probability of less than 50 per cent of another quarter-point cut in the benchmark deposit facility rate by the end of the first quarter of next year."}],[{"start":154.12,"text":"Inflation has come down to the ECB’s medium-term 2 per cent target and is expected to fall slightly below that threshold over the coming two years."}],[{"start":166.5,"text":"However, Kocher cautioned that it is “important to remain vigilant and not read too much into the current stability”, pointing to overall uncertainty stemming from trade tensions and geopolitical conflict."}],[{"start":181.65,"text":"“If the data shift, if risk assessments change, then a response will be required. This can go in either direction,” he said."}],[{"start":190.58,"text":"Trade data was “extremely hard to read at the moment because so many factors overlap”, he stressed, although the trade deal struck between the US and the EU at the end of July “has removed an element of uncertainty”."}],[{"start":205.21,"text":"Another positive factor was that the EU was not retaliating against US tariffs, he said."}],[{"start":212.94,"text":"On the other hand, the deal “will have a slightly negative impact on growth” as it makes EU goods more expensive in the US, he added."}],[{"start":222.87,"text":"Asked about the collapse of the French government and rising borrowing costs for the Eurozone’s second-biggest economy, he stressed that despite “some movement” in bond spreads, “we are still far from the levels seen during the euro crisis a decade or so ago”."}],[{"start":241.47,"text":"“There is no need for action for the ECB,” he added. "}],[{"start":254.35,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftmailbox.cn/album/a_1757897980_2685.mp3"}