The response of Brent crude oil to the European central bank monetary policy

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of European Central Bank (ECB) monetary policy decisions on oil prices and liquidity using an event study with intraday data. We analyse the period from January 1999 to December 2020, which includes the financial crisis that started in August 2007. Our results show a significant response for oil returns only during the financial crisis. Specifically, we find that Brent crude oil futures’ returns responded negatively to unexpected variations in the Italian risk premium as a measure of unconventional monetary policy actions – and positively to unexpected variations in short-term interest rates. That is, an unexpected increase in short-term interest rates and reductions in the Italian risk premium are taken as positive signals anticipating the end of the financial crisis. Moreover, as Brent is priced in US dollars, we have tested if the Brent response is due to the exchange rate response. We find that the null hypothesis of equal response from Brent and the exchange rate to ECB monetary policy announcements cannot be rejected. These are important results for monetary policy makers and financial agents.