The ECB increased its benchmark rate by a quarter-percentage point, to 3.5 per cent on Thursday, a day after the US Federal Reserve took a break from its own string of increases.
In Europe, it was the eighth straight increase since July 2022, an unprecedentedly swift campaign to tighten the flow of credit to the economy as the bank seeks to return inflation to its target of two per cent from 6.1 per cent.
The decision was widely expected, and many analysts think one more quarter-point hike is in the cards for the bank’s next meeting on 27 July.
ECB President Christine Lagarde’s remarks at a news conference Thursday will be scrutinized for clues about when rate increases might finally top out.
Source: Euronews