Overview of monetary policy and markets

Price stability is the best contribution that monetary policy can make to economic growth Our main aim at the ECB is price stability. We serve people living in the euro area by working to preserve the value of the euro. In this section you can learn about our policy strategy, the tools we use and the impact they have on your day-to-day life. We also follow the financial markets. This gives us information for our core task of keeping prices stable, which contributes to economic growth. We take decisions on monetary policy every six weeks – determining what should be done to keep inflation at our 2% target. Right after the decisions are taken, the President and Vice-President explain them in detail in a press conference. We take decisions on monetary policy every six weeks – determining what should be done to keep inflation under control. Our visual statement explains this in short and easy-to-understand language. Our monetary policy influences how much you have to pay to borrow and how much interest you receive on your savings. We steer interest rates with the aim of achieving price stability in the euro area. Find out how our tools and measures work. In addition to setting key interest rates, we also conduct open market operations. Check out the latest information on these operations. When banks borrow from us, they have to provide adequate collateral as a security. Want to know which collateral we accept? Looking for statistics on the collateral we have received? Learn more about the reasoning behind our monetary policy decisions and about collaborating across Europe We publish accounts of the Governing Council meetings in which monetary policy decisions are taken. These documents provide a summary of the discussions that took place. The Economic Bulletin provides additional insight into the economic, financial and monetary developments that form the basis for our monetary policy decisions. We have set up various market contact groups to guarantee that the implementation and transmission of our policies is smooth and efficient. The groups also let us talk to a range of market participants and follow developments in global financial markets and broader financing conditions in the euro area more closely. We regularly seek input on decisions and initiatives affecting financial markets. This direct engagement lets us benefit from the insights of people involved or interested in these markets. We use functional cookies to store user preferences; analytics cookies to improve website performance; third-party cookies set by third-party services integrated into the website. You have the choice to accept or reject them. For more information or to review your preference on the cookies and server logs we use, we invite you to: Read our privacy statement Learn more about how we use cookies We are always working to improve this website for our users. To do this, we use the anonymous data provided by cookies. See what has changed in our privacy policy We are always working to improve this website for our users. To do this, we use the anonymous data provided by cookies. Learn more about how we use cookies