The European Central Bank kept its rates unchanged this Thursday for the fifth consecutive time. The rate on deposits, which is the benchmark, was left at its record level of 4%, reached last September.
Price increases continued to slow down in the euro zone, to 2.4% in March year-on-year, or 0.2 points less than in February. In contrast, inflation in the U.S. in March accelerated to 3.5% year- on-year,. exceeding forecasts, according to the CPI index published on Wednesday. The prospect of a rate cut in June will “look like a compromise” between ECB central bankers described as “doves” and “hawks,” says ING economist Gilles Moec. The Frankfurt institution still lacks economic data to decide on a shift in monetary policy, says Moec, and it will continue to rely on current data to set its monetary course for a rate change in the next few months.