ECB cuts interest rate to 2%

EU interest rate at 2%

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced a 0.25% rate cut on 5th June 2025, lowering the deposit facility rate to 2%.

This marks the seventh consecutive rate cut as the ECB continues its monetary easing cycle.

ECB President Christine Lagarde emphasised that inflation has fallen below the 2% target, but economic growth remains sluggish.

Investors are now watching for further rate cuts later in the year, with markets pricing in another 0.25% reduction in October.

European Central Bank says: Signs that the global economy is fragmenting into competing blocs

European Central Bank

Fear or Fact?

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Friday 17th November 2023 reportedly said that Europe is now at a critical juncture, with deglobalization, demographics and decarbonization looming on the horizon.

Fragmentation

‘There are increasing signs that the global economy is fragmenting into competing blocs’, she said at the European Banking Congress, according to a transcript.

Focusing on Europe, she said that a continuous decline in the population of working age looks set to start as early as 2025, alongside climate disasters that are increasing every year.

Her answer to these shocks was that massive investment would be needed in a short space of time, requiring what she called a ‘generational effort‘.

Barriers

‘As new trade barriers appear, we will need to reassess supply chains and invest in new ones that are safer, more efficient and closer to home‘, Lagarde reportedly said.

‘As our societies age, we will need to deploy new technologies so that we can produce greater output with fewer workers. Digitalization will help. And as our climate warms, we will need to advance the green transition without any further delays‘.

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