The European Central Bank (ECB) has sent a very strong signal to markets by saying it will keep rates low for an extended period of time, just weeks after its U.S. counterpart raised the possibility of scaling back its extraordinary monetary easing before the year-end, said economists.
The ECB surprised markets by stating clearly the future path of interest rate policy on Thursday putting the possibility of negative deposit rates back on the cards, according to experts.
"After 14 years of commitment anxiety, the ECB has today [Thursday] decided that providing forward guidance, in effect communicating that the current level of policy rates will for long be a ceiling, not a floor," economists at Deutsche Bank, wrote.
(Read More: Goldman Sachs Sees More Easing in Europe and UK)
"The message to the money market is strong: negative deposit rates, which had been seemingly downplayed last month, are firmly back on the table," they said.