Virus postpones ECB monetary policy review 6 months

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday announced that its strategic monetary policy review – its first since 2003 – has been postponed for six months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"In the current situation, the decision-making bodies and staff of the ECB and the national central banks of the Eurosystem are focusing all their efforts on addressing the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic." the bank said.

The conclusion of the strategy review will thus be postponed from the end of 2020 to mid-2021, it added.

The ECB has called off a number of its events due to the health measures in place across the EU, including lockdowns of public spaces and rules prohibiting gatherings in several eurozone countries.

"The listening events of the ECB and the Eurosystem’s national central banks – originally planned for the first half of 2020 – are now intended to take place during the second half of 2020," it said.

The annual ECB Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal has been postponed to Nov. 10-12.

The strategic review aims to redefine the bank's main target and the tools including "quantitative formulation of price stability, monetary policy toolkit, economic and monetary analysis and communication practices."

After surfacing in Wuhan, China last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 180 countries and regions.

The global death toll from COVID-19 is nearly 50,000, with more than 952,000 cases confirmed worldwide, according to U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University. Over 202,000 people have recovered from the infection so far.