Page 4 - European Central Bank

ECB hikes key interest rate to record high even as recession threat grows

Thursday's decision raises the ECB's benchmark deposit rate to 4%, up drastically from minus 0.5% just a little more than a year ago and the highest since the euro was established in 1999

Europe's inflation held steady in Aug as CenBank keeps open mind on rates

Annual inflation held steady in Europe in August as food prices raced ahead of falling fuel costs, but there was no clarity about whether the European Central Bank can pause its record series of interest rate hikes. The consumer price index for the 20 countries that use the euro currency was unchanged at 5.3 per cent from the July reading, supported by food, alcohol and tobacco prices that increased a painful 9.8 per cent, according to official figures Thursday from EU statistics agency Eurostat. Another key inflation number so-called core inflation that leaves out volatile fuel and food also eased in August, falling to 5.3 per cent from 5.5 per cent. That figure will be a key consideration for the ECB in deciding whether interest rates need to go higher, or can remain unchanged to judge their impact on the economy. Fuel prices fell 3.3 per cent amid flat global oil prices and diminished summer demand for heating fuel. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has said t

Only recession can tame West's inflation, says adviser to UK chancellor

While European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Powell offered few clues about their next steps at their upcoming decisions, each signaled ongoing concern about prices

Economic data in Europe gets worse, ECB interest rate pause on cards

Wall Street futures also pointed to a bounce having been pressured on Tuesday by higher bond yields, which hit 16-year highs

European Central Bank hikes interest rates for 9th time to combat inflation

The European Central Bank raised interest rates for the ninth straight time in its yearlong campaign to stamp out painfully high inflation, even as worries about recession fuel speculation that Thursday's hike could be its last. ECB President Christine Lagarde had all but promised the quarter-percentage point increase. That puts the focus at her post-meeting news conference on whether the bank will raise rates again at its September meeting or hold off after a record series of rate hikes. Central banks around the world have been raising borrowing costs to combat inflation unleashed by higher energy prices after Russia invaded Ukraine and supply chain backups as the global economy recovered from the coronavirus pandemic. Now, the question is whether the rapid rate hikes are reaching their end. The ECB move followed a decision by the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday to raise its key rate for the 11th time in 17 months.

Fed readies another rate hike in pivotal week for major central banks

Both Fed Chair Jerome Powell and ECB President Christine Lagarde have warned that inflation remains too high, forcing them to raise borrowing costs further

European Central Bank policymakers open to further rate hikes past July

The ECB's account of that meeting showed rate increases might continue at the central bank's following gathering on Sept 13-14, as earlier reported by Reuters

Central banks set to diverge on rates as stubborn inflation stalks Fed, ECB

With another hike in interest rates anticipated by the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank for July, and some peers on a similar track

ECB raises interest rates to highest in 22 years, signals more increases

The European Central Bank pressed ahead with another interest rate hike on Thursday and pledged more are on the way, aiming to crush inflation that is driving up the cost of groceries, utility bills and summer vacations even after the US Federal Reserve took a break from its own string of increases. The boost of a quarter-percentage point, to 3.5 per cent, is the eighth straight increase since July 2022 for the 20 countries that use the euro currency. That is an unprecedentedly swift campaign to tighten the flow of credit to the economy as the bank seeks to return inflation to its target of 2 per cent from 6.1 per cent. ECB President Christine Lagarde said more hikes, including at the bank's next meeting on July 27, are in the cards. Are we done? Have we finished the journey? No, we're not at destination. Do we still have ground to cover? Yes, we have ground to cover, she said at a news conference. Lagarde said the bank will continue to hike at our next meeting. So we are not thin

Cause and effect: Are corporate profits fueling inflation globally

As the Federal Reserve continues with hikes, the linkage between corporate profit margins and inflation is blamed for consumer burden

Fed up with returns, Europeans drain billions from banks: Report

The trend emerged as some of the region's biggest lenders outlined a profitable start to the year in results that also offered a glimpse of a phenomenon dubbed a "bank walk"

ECB raises rates by 25 bps to 3.25% in inflation fight in a 7th hike

The central bank for the 20 countries that share the euro has now lifted rates by a combined 375 basis points since last July, its fastest pace of tightening

Europe's inflation inches up ahead of central bank's interest rate decision

Europe's painful inflation inched higher last month, extending the squeeze on households and keeping pressure on the European Central Bank to unleash another large interest rate increase. Consumer prices in the 20 countries using the euro currency jumped 7 per cent in April from a year earlier, just down from the annual rate of 6.9 per cent in March, the European Union statistics agency Eurostat said on Tuesday. Food prices eased a little, falling to an annual 13.6 per cent from March's 15.5 per cent, while energy prices rose a more modest 2.5 per cent. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and fuel, slowed slightly but was still high at 5.6 per cent, underlining the expectation that the ECB will press ahead with its campaign to beat inflation into submission with rate hikes. The question is: How quickly will the bank go? Analysts say the ECB's meeting on Thursday in Frankfurt could end in an increase of a quarter- or a half-percentage point. A quarter-point hike would be a

Recovery prospects for economy fragile owing to Russia's war: ECB chief

European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde on Friday said that recovery prospects for global economy remain fragile amid continued uncertainty, fuelled by Russia's unjustified war against Ukraine

ECB supervisors meet over banking stress as US rescue eases immediate fears

The rescue package came less than a day after Credit Suisse clinched an emergency central bank loan of up to $54 billion to shore up its liquidity

Despite SVB-triggered turmoil, European central banks hint rate hike

The European Central Bank is still leaning towards a half-percentage-point rate hike on Thursday, despite turmoil in the banking sector, given high inflation

Sensex, Nifty post eighth straight fall in longest losing streak in 4 years

Indices down 4% in eight sessions; rising inflation data in Europe sees bond yields soar, putting pressure on global equities

Central banks, including RBI, may raise interest rates to combat inflation

ECB President Christine Lagarde has already said the bank till hike rates, if needed

Expect 25-bp hike before RBI presses pause button

The rate-increase cycle, which started in May 2022, raising the policy rate from 4 to 6.25 per cent to fight entrenched inflation, is nearing its end

European Central Bank outpaces US Federal Reserve with half-point hike

The European Central Bank has chugged ahead with another outsized interest rate increase, underlining its drive to subdue high inflation even as the European economy slows and the US Federal Reserve eases its pace of hikes. The bank raised its key benchmarks by half a percentage point Thursday and vowed a similar move in March. The Frankfurt-based policymakers are moving aggressively to get on top of price spikes that have slowed but are still hurting households in the 20 countries that use the euro currency. The bank said it will stay the course in raising interest rates significantly at a steady pace and in keeping them at levels that are sufficiently restrictive to ensure a timely return of inflation to its 2 per cent medium-term target." The Bank of England also went big with a half-point hike Thursday, but the Fed pulled back a day earlier, slowing to a quarter-point hike. While ECB President Christine Lagarde essentially announced the move at the bank's December meeting, her