VIENNA: It is “conceivable” that the European Central Bank (ECB) will cut interest rates by 25 basis points at its next rate-setting meeting this month, but not more, ECB policymaker Robert Holzmann has said in a newspaper interview.
Investors expect the ECB to cut interest rates at every one of its upcoming meetings at least through next June and the 3.25% deposit rate is now expected to end 2025 at 1.75%, a level low enough – in the view of many economists – to start stimulating growth.
“As the data currently stands, I think a reduction of 0.25 percentage points is conceivable at this month’s meeting, not more,” Holzmann, who heads the Austrian National Bank, told Austria’s Oberoesterreichische Nachrichten newspaper.
“But that is not yet decided. As always, it depends on the final data we receive.”
The general expectation that US President-elect Donald Trump will introduce sweeping import tariffs after he takes office in January is, however, putting upward pressure on inflation expectations, he said. — Reuters
