ECB's Centeno: Level of interest rates in Euro area remains restrictive

European Central Bank (ECB) policymaker Mario Centeno noted on Friday that the ECB's decision to lower key rates by 25 basis points (bps) was "absolutely consensual," per Reuters.

Centeno noted that 'gradualism' will be the most important word for policymaking moving forward, adding that the level of interest rates in the Euro area remains restrictive. "In a few quarters, we will have normalization of the policy with interest rate close to 2% if there are no other shocks," he said.

Market reaction

EUR/USD showed no immediate reaction to these comments and was last seen trading at 1.0495, where it was up 0.25% on the day.