Taper tiptoeing: The ECB after Jackson Hole

With no hints at tapering or the current stance of monetary policy, markets will now look out for the 7 September meeting. The demand for an ECB game plan on tapering will only get stronger and Draghi will have to address it. The cautious taper tiptoeing will continue. Mario Draghi has extended the summer lull a little further as his Jackson Hole speech brought anything but fireworks. The fall (or autumn for European English-speakers), for which Draghi has promised a decision on the next steps for QE, is about to start and he is running out of possibilities to announce the future path for his asset purchasing programme. A significant change to the programme is to be expected, but the ECB will be very cautious not to tighten financial conditions any further.