The European Central Bank (ECB) reduced the three key policy rates by 25 basis points in line with market expectations.

During the first Governing Council meeting of the year, the ECB announced its monetary policy decisions. Accordingly, the bank lowered the deposit interest rate from 2.75% to 2.50%. The ECB also cut the refinancing rate and the marginal lending rate by 25 basis points each to 2.65% and 2.90%, respectively. This marks the sixth reduction since March 2016 for the refinancing rate and the marginal lending rate and since September 2019 for the deposit interest rate during the second meeting focused on monetary policy for the year. The ECB’s decision came in light of sluggish economic growth across the Eurozone and following inflation close to the bank’s 2% target in February at 2.4%.