European Central Bank

Christine Lagarde, who took charge of the ECB in 2019, steered the eurozone through the Covid pandemic, the Ukraine war, an energy crisis and inflation pressures linked to the US-Iran war

Policymakers see December as the likeliest time for a rate increase, while rising bond yields, high energy costs, AI investment and uncertainty over US policy complicate the outlook for next year

Klaas Knot and Pablo Hernandez de Cos remain key contenders for the ECB presidency as European capitals prepare for negotiations over top central bank roles

The ECB raised interest rates this week for the second time since the Iran war sent oil and gas prices soaring

The ECB said AI can boost productivity and profits, but rising economy-wide risks could still trigger a stock correction, with a US tech sell-off potentially spreading to European markets

European bonds held gains after the announcement, with the 10-year yield three basis points lower at 3.05 per cent . The euro was steady against the dollar at $1.1538

The updated MoU between the RBI and ECB will facilitate regular information exchange, policy dialogue and technical cooperation in areas of mutual interest

Unlike in the US, this will be done via the ECB's regular dialogue with bank staff and no ad-hoc meeting with top management has been scheduled yet

"The war in the Middle East...will have a material impact on near-term inflation through higher energy pricesm," the ECB said

The unusually sharp repricing came as major oil producers cut supply and fears grew of prolonged shipping disruptions, pushing crude above $119 a barrel its highest level since mid-2022

Lagarde also defended a system that was built "by the powerful and the powerless alike" after last century's wars, while stressing it may need reforms, citing the World Trade Organisation

An ECB spokesperson said Lagarde was focused on her job and had not taken any decision regarding the end of her term

Asked about the currency, Lagarde said the ECB was keeping a close eye on markets but ultimately concluded that no big change has taken place in recent months

The Balkan nation of 6.4 million people just completed its economic transformation and became the latest country to join the world's biggest currency zone

The ECB now sees inflation at 1.9% in 2026, above its previous projection for 1.7% while 2027 inflation is projected at 1.8%, below the 1.9% seen in September

Lagarde said that Europe has become more vulnerable due to its dependency on third countries for its security and the supply of critical raw materials

ECB officials have largely indicated that - after eight interest-rate cuts in a year - they are happy with current policy settings, though some are still saying further cuts shouldn't be excluded

Lenders are discussing a potential solution with the ECB about easing charges imposed after Europe's markets agency withdrew recognition of the CCIL and other agencies three years ago

The European Central Bank will likely hold off on making another interest rate cut Thursday, choosing to wait until it can measure the size of any economic blow from higher US tariffs. The ECB has already cut rates eight times since June of last year and President Christine Lagarde said after the last policy meeting June 5 that the central bank is getting to the end of a monetary policy cycle." The monetary authority for the 20 countries that use the euro currency has been lowering rates to support growth after raising them in 2022-2023 to snuff out inflation caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the rebound after the pandemic. With the bench mark rate now at 2 per cent, down from a record high of 4 per cent, analyst think there could be one more rate cut coming, but only in September. The reason, say analysts: The ECB's policymakers simply don't know the outcome of talks between the EU's executive commission and the Trump administration. Trump first set a 20 per cent tariff

The head of the European Central Bank said inflation has become more unpredictable due to shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine and that policymakers need to take the possibility of such extreme scenarios into account and communicate them to the public as well. The world ahead is more uncertain, and that uncertainty is likely to make inflation more volatile, European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said Monday in a speech opening the central bank's annual conference in Sintra, Portugal. It's pretty basic but that's the reality. One reason, she said, was that increasingly regular supply disruptions were leading companies to change their prices more frequently, a habit that goes beyond the recent burst of inflation in the US and Europe and reflects a structural shift in how firms operate under conditions of permanently higher uncertainty. The bank's assessment of the economy needs to rely on taking extreme possible scenarios into account as