ATHENS, Oct 26 — The European Central Bank (ECB) meets on Thursday to decide whether to raise interest rates after 10 consecutive rate hikes.
The bank is set to announce whether it will raise rates after an external council meeting in Athens at 2:15pm (1215 GMT).
Many economists expect the monetary watchdog to leave rates as they are, as eurozone inflation has weakened recently, while concerns about the economy are growing.
After the council last met in September, ECB President Christine Lagarde signalled that the rate hike might be the last for the time being. However, she did not exclude the possibility of a further hike, saying it would depend on incoming data.
After years of zero and negative interest rates, the ECB has raised rates 10 times in a row because of high inflation as a result of the war in Ukraine.
With the hikes, the EU’s monetary guardians are trying to curb high inflation. Higher interest rates make loans more expensive which can slow down demand and counteract high inflation rates.
However, more expensive loans are at the same time a burden for the economy, because credit-financed investments become more expensive.
The central bank aims for medium-term price stability in the eurozone at an inflation rate of 2 per cent. In September, the inflation rate in the common currency area weakened to 4.3 per cent, from 5.2 per cent the previous month.
— Bernama-dpa
