Traders See 20% Chance of Half-Point ECB Rate Cut in December

  • Money markets are pricing more aggressive easing to come
  • Policymakers unanimously decided to lower rate on Thursday
Christine Lagarde on Oct. 17.Photographer: Petar Santini/Bloomberg

Traders are adding to bets that the European Central Bank will need a bumper interest-rate cut in December after policymakers flagged risks to growth as they lowered borrowing costs on Thursday.

Money markets imply a 20% chance of a half-point cut at the final meeting of the year and are almost fully priced for quarter-point reductions at every ECB meeting through April. Before the decision, traders were only expecting a quarter-point cut in December and consecutive moves through March.