European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said that all options are open regarding the evolution of interest rates at the September meeting, following the interest rate pause decided today by the institution.
“The question of what we will do in September is open and we are determined to act on the basis of the data we receive,” Lagarde said at the press conference that followed the monetary policy meeting held today, in which it was decided to keep the three key interest rates at current levels.
The rate on the main refinancing operations remains at 4.25%, the permanent liquidity facility rate remains at 4.50% and the permanent deposit facility rate remains at 3.75%.
In the statement released after the meeting, the ECB stressed that it will keep interest rates “at sufficiently restrictive levels for as long as necessary” to “ensure the timely return of inflation to its medium-term objective of 2%”.
According to the statement, the Governing Council “will continue to follow a data-dependent and meeting-by-meeting approach”.
The decision to maintain interest rates was already expected, with analysts anticipating a further cut in interest rates only at the September meeting.
2024-07-18 20:58:56