During her press conference, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde outlined the ECB's decision to cut key interest rates by 25 basis points at the March policy meeting. She elaborated on the rationale behind the move, emphasizing its role in supporting economic stability. Lagarde also addressed questions from the media, providing insights into the ECB's outlook and future policy direction.
ECB press conference key highlight.
"Consumer confidence remains fragile".
"Services are resilient".
"Uncertainty is holding back investment".
"Surveys suggest that employment growth is subdued".
"Domestic inflation remains high".
"Recent wage deals point to a continued moderation of wage pressures".
"Risks to growth remain tilted to the downside".
"Trade tensions could lower growth".
"Defence and infrastructure spending could add to growth".
"Geopolitical tensions create two-sided inflation risks".
"We are now moving to a more evolutionary approach".
"The increased defence and infrastructure spending is still a work in progress".
"The ECB needs time to understand the impact".
"More spending would be a boost to the European economy".
"Corporate and household lending are growing".
"Disinflation is on track and monetary policy is meaningfully less restrictive, although uncertainty remains high".
"The ECB remains data-dependent, and decisions on rates will be made on a meeting-by-meeting basis".
"No one opposed today's decision, while Mr. Holzmann abstained."
On Thursday, as widely expected, the European Central Bank (ECB) reduced its key rates by 25 basis points at the March policy meeting. This move puts the main refinancing operations rate at 2.65%, while the marginal lending facility and deposit facility rates now stand at 2.90% and 2.50%, respectively
Source: Fxstreet
