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Economists Read ECB Flip-Flop as Concern Over Weakening Momentum

Economists Read ECB Flip-Flop as Concern Over Weakening Momentum

(Bloomberg) -- The European Central Bank presented a whopping set of monetary policy initiatives Thursday that sent economists and analysts on Twitter into a tailspin.

Here are some of their quick reactions as the euro tumbled in reaction to cuts in ECB growth and inflation forecasts, as well as new cheap loans for banks.

Allianz chief economic adviser Mohamed El-Erian called it an ECB flip-flop similar to the one seen by the Federal Reserve in January.

Piet Christiansen, senior ECB analyst at Danske Bank, called it dovish.

Arkera FX and global macro strategist Viraj Patel agreed the tone was dovish but said it is likely a one-off adjustment and that the real losers are peripheral European currencies, like the Swedish krona.

BlackRock portfolio manager Rupert Harrison called the decision a reality check for ECB President Mario Draghi.

Nordea chief analyst Anders Svendsen wanted more from the ECB.

His colleague at Nordea Markets, global FX strategist Andreas Steno Larsen, went against market sentiment and advised buying the euro on today’s statement.

Claus Vistesen, macroeconomist for Pantheon Macroeconomics, thinks today’s decision may hamstring Draghi’s successor.

Nick Kounis, head of macro and financial markets research at ABN Amro, said this may not be the last dovish message from ECB.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anna Molin in Stockholm at amolin3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Katerina Petroff at kpetroff@bloomberg.net, Crystal Chui, Jana Randow

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