ECB rate decision live: European Central Bank set to cut interest rates again, markets edge higher
FILE PHOTO: ECB headquarters, Frankfurt, Germany, March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Jana Rodenbusch
In April, the ECB cut rates by 25 basis points to 2.25%, the seventh cut in a year, warning that economic growth will take a big hit from U.S. tariffs.
The ECB has taken borrowing costs to their lowest level since late 2022, as the sharp post-pandemic inflation spike has largely disappeared and fast-moving changes to trade policies sap business confidence and depress growth.
'Downside risks to economic growth have increased," Lagarde said after policymakers agreed unanimously to cut the ECB's benchmark rate.
"The major escalation in global trade tensions and associated uncertainties will likely lower euro area growth by dampening exports, and it may drive down investment and consumption," she said.
Lagarde gave away almost nothing about the bank's next moves, insisting policymakers would decide meeting-by-meeting.
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