<\/p>\n
The European Central Bank (ECB) decided at its meeting earlier today, Thursday, December 18, to maintain its three main interest rates unchanged. The deposit rate remains at 2%, the main refinancing rate at 2.15%, and the lending facility rate at 2.40%. This marks the fourth consecutive meeting where the ECB has kept its rates steady, following seven consecutive rate cuts.<\/p>\n
The bank’s interest rate statement indicated that its experts’ forecasts project headline inflation to average 2.1% this year, 1.9% next year, and 1.8% in 2027. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, is expected to reach 2.4% this year and 2.2% next year.<\/p>\n
The ECB anticipates stronger economic growth than projected in September, driven primarily by domestic demand. Growth forecasts have been revised upward to 1.4% this year and 1.2% next year.<\/p>\n
The Governing Council is committed to ensuring inflation remains at its 2% target over the medium term and will adopt a data-driven approach, making decisions at each meeting to determine the appropriate monetary policy.<\/p>\n
The Appropriations Purchase Programme (APP) and the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) are being phased out at a measured and expected pace, as the European Central Bank (ECB) has ceased reinvesting capital payments from maturing securities.<\/p>\n
Markets are awaiting the ECB President’s comments and question-and-answer session with journalists at the press conference, which is expected to begin in approximately 45 minutes.<\/p>\n
<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The European Central Bank (ECB) decided at its meeting earlier today, Thursday, December 18, to maintain its three main interest rates unchanged. The deposit rate remains at 2%, the main refinancing rate at 2.15%, and the lending facility rate at 2.40%. This marks the fourth consecutive meeting where the ECB has kept its rates steady, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7218,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-currency-markets"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n