European Central Bank President Lagarde: The outlook for financial stability remains fragile.

European Central Bank President Lagarde: Most long-term inflation expectations indicators are currently around 2%.

European Central Bank President Lagarde: The decline in inflation is broad-based.

European Central Bank President Lagarde: The outlook for construction and manufacturing is particularly weak.

European Central Bank President Lagarde: Services sector activity will slow down in the coming months.

European Central Bank President Lagarde: Weak external demand will put pressure on the economy.

Agency Comments on U.S. Retail Sales and Preliminary Request Data: The demand slowdown mentioned by Federal Reserve Chairman Powell yesterday did not slow down as quickly as expected, at least in terms of retail sales, which is better than all overall data. The number of initial jobless claims was also far lower than expected, and even import prices were not as negative as market forecasts. The data are certainly not as dovish as market trends over the past 24 hours.

Austrian Oil Company (OMV) and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) are close to reaching a cooperation agreement.

Financial website Forexlive commented on U.S. retail sales data: U.S. consumers performed strongly throughout the year. Sales have increased in six of the past seven months. Gasoline sales were again weighed down by lower prices, but otherwise sales were generally strong except for electronics and building materials. Given the recent decline in interest rates, the housing and construction category is more likely to be a driver in 2024.

U.S. stock index futures held on to gains after the data was released.

The German 10-year government bond yield fell slightly after the announcement of the European Central Bank decision and is now at 2.117%, down 5.20 basis points on the day.

ECB: Current interest rates will make a significant contribution to the target.