Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. The welcome slowdown in global inflation is clearing the way for central banks to pull down interest rates, and today the spotlight falls on the European Central Bank . The ECB is expected to make its third rate cut of the year today, putting it two cuts ahead of the Bank of England .
Policymakers are under pressure to cut after eurozone inflation was estimated to fall below the ECB’s 2% target in September (we get the final reading today too). Economists predict the ECB will cut its deposit rate by another quarter-point today, to 3.25%, as its governing council meets in Ljubljana, Slovenia, today.
President Christine Lagarde is also expected to leave the door wide open for another cut in December. 🇪🇺 The #ECB will speed up rate cuts in the months ahead to bolster the economy. With #inflation now below 2%, analysts see the ECB decreasing its deposit rate by a quarter-point at every meeting through March.
https://t.co/JRSye3vfc4 pic.twitter.
com/gWOIgfdCG5 With European countries such as Germany struggling this year, lower interest rates would be welcomed by business and consumers across the eurozone. Last week, Greece’s central bank governor Yannis Stournaras piled pressure on the governing council, dclaring that “highly restrictive” interest rates could be lowered faster than previously anticipated. Neil Hutchison, European liquidity strategies portfolio m.
