Institution: The European Central Bank may still cut interest rates, but may stay put in the near future.

Antonio Villarroya, director of macro and fixed income strategy research at Santander Corporate Investment Bank, stated in his report that it is still too early to completely rule out the possibility of a rate cut by the European Central Bank and the markets. The European Central Bank seems "quite confident" in maintaining the deposit rate at 2.00% until macroeconomic data confirms their own forecasts, which may not happen until later this year. Santander continues to adhere to the long-term view that there is no need for the European Central Bank to lower the deposit rate below 2%. "This still implies a bias towards higher risks in the eurozone yield curve, although a significant rate hike may not occur until closer to that time."