Qui décide du taux directeur en zone euro ?

Le Conseil des gouverneurs de la BCE : les six membres du directoire et les gouverneurs des banques centrales nationales de la zone euro. Il se réunit pour la politique monétaire toutes les six semaines environ.

Une hausse du taux directeur fait-elle toujours monter la devise ?

Non. Si la hausse était déjà attendue, elle est dans les prix. La devise peut même baisser si la banque centrale laisse entendre que c'est la dernière.

Policy rate: definition

Also called: policy rate

The rate at which a central bank lends to banks or pays interest on their reserves. By raising or lowering it, it makes credit more or less expensive throughout the economy. It is the variable that weighs most on a currency's value over the medium term.

How a policy rate works

A central bank doesn't directly set the rate on your mortgage. It sets the price at which banks can deposit or borrow liquidity with it, overnight. Since no bank has any interest in lending to another for less than a risk-free deposit at the central bank pays, this rate becomes the floor of the whole money market, then spreads to the rates on loans, bonds and savings.

Each central bank has its own instrument. The Federal Reserve sets a 25 basis point range for fed funds, the Bank of England its Bank Rate, the Bank of Japan an overnight rate.

The ECB's three rates

The ECB sets three: the deposit facility rate (what an overnight deposit earns), the main refinancing operations rate (the price of a one-week loan) and the marginal lending facility rate (an emergency overnight loan). Since the excess liquidity from the years of asset purchases has kept market rates at the floor, the deposit rate plays the role of policy rate.

Since 18 September 2024, the gap between the deposit rate and the main refinancing rate has been 15 basis points. When the press writes that “the ECB cuts rates by 25 points”, all three rates move together.

Why a rate decision moves a currency

A rate hike makes investments in the currency more rewarding, which attracts capital and generally supports it. A cut does the opposite. But the market anticipates: most decisions are known days in advance, and the price has already priced in the expected move. What moves the currency on the day of the meeting is the gap between the decision and what was expected, and above all what the bank hints about what comes next.

That is also why a trader looks less at the level of a rate than at the gap between two rates: EUR/USD reacts to the difference between the ECB and the Fed, not to the level of either one.

Today's policy rates →

Frequently asked questions

Who decides the policy rate in the euro area?: The ECB Governing Council: the six members of the Executive Board and the governors of the euro area's national central banks. It meets on monetary policy roughly every six weeks.
Does a policy rate hike always push the currency up?: No. If the hike was already expected, it is priced in. The currency can even fall if the central bank hints that it is the last one.

This page explains a concept; it is not investment advice. Leveraged currency trading carries a high risk of losing capital.