SASBACHWALDEN, Germany: Euro zone growth is stronger than expected and this will enable the European Central Bank (ECB) to slowly normalize its monetary policy and end a “crazy situation” of negative interest rates, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Monday.
Senior German government officials have stepped up the pressure on the ECB to scale back its monetary stimulus of bond purchases and sub-zero rates as Germany heads toward federal elections and voters complain about meager savings returns.
Critics of the ECB’s decision to buy sovereign bonds on the secondary market also argue that the program has reduced pressure on euro zone governments to implement reforms.
Speaking to voters in his constituency in the southern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg less than three months before the Sept. 24 election, Schaeuble said the euro zone was recovering surprisingly well and the threat of deflation had vanished.
Schaeuble said that inflation in the euro zone was slowly picking up and that it was moving toward the ECB’s price stability target of just under 2 percent.
This development would help ECB policymakers find a case for normalization of their ultra-loose monetary policy, he added. “We must quickly come back to a situation in which interest rates are what they used to be,” Schaeuble said.
He also pointed out that euro zone governments still had some work to do when it comes to reforms and that France and Germany next week would press ahead with proposals to strengthen bilateral cooperation and European integration.
The veteran finance minister, 74, is the longest serving lawmaker in the Bundestag lower house of Parliament and he will run for another four years as a parliamentarian in September.
“I am ready to continue,” Schaeuble told the crowd of some 400 voters in the tiny Black Forest town of Sasbachwalden near Offenburg. “But for this, we first need a clear majority.”
Schaeuble hoping growth will end stimulus
Schaeuble hoping growth will end stimulus
Closing Bell: TASI sheds points to close at 10,416
RIYADH: Saudi equities closed sharply lower on Sunday, with the Tadawul All Share Index falling 109.44 points, or 1.04 percent, to 10,416.65.
Losses were mirrored across other benchmarks, with the MT30 Index declining 11.31 points, or 0.81 percent, to 1,378.35, while the Nomu Parallel Market Index dropped 186.91 points, or 0.80 percent, to 23,244.02.
Trading activity saw 136 million shares change hands, with a total value of SR2.40 billion ($640 million).
On the stock level, gains were led by Flynas Co., which closed at SR64.10, up SR3.10, or 5.08 percent.
Arabian Mining Co. ended the session at SR88, rising SR4, or 4.76 percent, while Saudi Industrial Export Co. settled at SR2.20, gaining SR0.10, or 4.76 percent.
Raoom Trading Co. also advanced, closing at SR62.75, up SR1.70, or 2.78 percent, and Saudi Cable Co. finished higher at SR148, adding SR3.40, or 2.35 percent, bucking the broader market weakness.
On the losing side, Mutakamelah Cooperative Insurance Co. posted the steepest decline, closing at SR10.54, down SR0.96, or 8.35 percent.
Wafrah Co. for Industry and Development followed, ending at SR19.50, falling SR1.50, or 7.14 percent.
Shares of Consolidated Grunenfelder Saady Holding Co. retreated sharply, closing at SR8.92, down SR0.68, or 7.08 percent, while Leejam Sports Co. slid to SR94, shedding SR6.80, or 6.75 percent.
Saudi Research and Media Group Co. also ended the session notably lower, closing at SR127, down SR9, or 6.62 percent.
On the announcements front, Naqi Water Co. said it has signed an addendum to its previously disclosed contract to purchase a bottled drinking water production line for its new factory in Riyadh, expanding the project scope to include two independent production lines instead of one.
The amendment increases total production capacity to 120,000 bottles per hour, up 20 percent from the previously targeted capacity, enhancing operational flexibility, reliability, and production stability.
The total contract value has been repriced to €9.58 million ($11.28 million), compared with the originally announced €8.54 million, reflecting the expanded scope and the adoption of innovative packaging solutions aimed at reducing plastic usage and lowering production costs.
The company said the financial impact is expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Naqi Water Co.’s shares closed at SR57.40, declining SR1.60, or 2.71 percent, following the disclosure.
