The headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt
The European Central Bank (ECB), as expected, decided on Thursday to maintain its key rates at their current levels, for the fourth consecutive meeting.
The deposit rate thus remains at 4.0%, its highest level since the creation of the euro in 1999. It reached this threshold in September 2023 after ten consecutive increases.
The President of the ECB, Christine Lagarde, is due to comment on the institution’s announcements during a press conference scheduled for 1:45 p.m. GMT.
A Reuters survey, published at the end of February, showed that the vast majority of economists expected a further pause in the ECB’s rate hike and that the first monetary easing would not take place until June.
(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Blandine Hénault)