Summary
- The European Central Bank said it held the deposit rate, main refinancing rate and marginal lending rate unchanged.
- In a statement, the ECB said the risks of higher inflation and slower economic growth had both intensified.
- The ECB said it had cut policy rates by 2.00 percentage points in eight moves over the year beginning in June 2024, before holding them unchanged for seven straight meetings.
The European Central Bank left all three of its key policy rates unchanged at its monetary policy meeting on April 30.
The ECB kept its deposit rate at 2.00%. The main refinancing rate remained at 2.15%, and the marginal lending facility stayed at 2.40%.
The move suggests the ECB is monitoring the fallout from the Iran war while maintaining a wait-and-see stance similar to that of the Federal Reserve. In a statement, the ECB said the risks of higher inflation and slower economic growth had both intensified. The Governing Council is well positioned to navigate the current uncertainty, it said.
The decision leaves the gap between the euro area's deposit rate, the benchmark for monetary policy across the 21 countries that use the euro, and South Korea's base rate of 2.50% unchanged at 0.50 percentage point. The spread between the euro area and the US, where rates are 3.50% to 3.75%, stands at 1.50 to 1.75 percentage points.
The ECB cut policy rates by a total of 2.00 percentage points in eight moves over the year beginning in June 2024. It has now held rates unchanged at seven straight meetings.
JOON HYOUNG LEE
gilson@bloomingbit.ioCrypto Journalist based in Seoul
