The European Central Bank cut its economic growth expectations for the euro zone once more on Thursday and raised its projection for inflation this year, even as it predicted price growth back at target in 2026.

The European Central Bank cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point to 2.5% on Thursday as inflation nears 2% and growth remains weak. View on euronews

European Central Bank officials are bracing for tough negotiations over whether to cut interest rates further or hold fire when they next set borrowing costs in April, according to people familiar with their thinking.

Consumer prices in the eurozone were 2.4% higher in February than a year earlier, a slower rate of inflation than recorded in January, reassuring news for central bank policymakers as they prepare to meet later this week.

Christine Lagarde said the central bank is switching “to a more evolutionary approach” as it will take longer for inflation to cool towards its 2pc target.

Easing for the sixth time since June, the ECB lowered its deposit rate to 2.5% in a nod to slowing inflation and faltering growth, and said that rates were still restricting growth, even if less so than in the past.

Euro zone inflation dipped a bit less than expected last month but its most closely watched component also dropped, sealing the case for another ECB interest rate cut on Thursday and solidifying bets for further policy easing in the coming months.

As expected, the European Central Bank (ECB) cut its policy rates today for the sixth time in this cycle, marking its fifth straight cut. The interest rate on the main refinancing operations, the marginal lending facility,

The news that the European Central Bank has cut rates for the sixth time in the past 12 months is a positive development for Irish consumers and businesses.

FRANKFURT — The European Central Bank cut its key deposit rate by 25 basis points to 2.50 percent, but signalled that it may soon have to take a more cautious approach to easing policy as the eurozone economy heads into the great unknown.

The European Central Bank cut interest rates as expected on Thursday (Mar 6) and kept the door ajar to more, even as a looming trade war with the US and plans to boost military spending drive Europe’s biggest economic policy upheaval in decades.