Leaks relating to European Central Bank monetary policy are frequent and have a “sizeable impact on financial markets”, finds research published by the ECB on May 19.

Authors Michael Ehrmann, Phillipp Gnan and Kilian Rieder note it is common for media reports to cite unnamed sources discussing details of ECB policy. “[Leaks] tend to go against prevailing trends in short-term rates and can trigger major market reactions even though they are not generally informative about upcoming decisions,”