ECB's Schnabel: Lowering interest rates remains an option for the future

"Lowering interest rates remains an option for the futures," Isabel Schnabel, member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB), said on Tuesday, as reported by Reuters.  

"Bond-buying is currently more effective than negative rates," Schnabel added and noted that the QE has slightly reduced the wealth inequality in the euro area. "The Eurosystem holds about 9% of balance sheet in gold."

Market reaction

The EUR/USD pair largely ignored these comments and was last seen trading at 1.1350, gaining 0.5% on a daily basis.