Frankfurt, Sep 9 (Ajit Weekly News) The European Central Bank (ECB) has raised key interest rates by 75 basis points (bp), the second such hike after a 50 bp increase in July.
Effective September 14, the interest rates on the main re-financing operations, the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will be 1.25 per cent, 1.5 per cent and 0.75 per cent, respectively, the ECB said at the conclusion of a Governing Council meeting here late Thursday.
The larger-than-expected rate increase reflects the bank’s growing concern about surging inflation in the eurozone, reports Xinhua news agency.
The ECB expects to raise interest rates further as “inflation remains far too high and is likely to stay above target for an extended period”.
In its latest forecast for the eurozone economy, the ECB revised up its inflation projections to 8.1 per cent in 2022, 5.5 per cent in 2023 and 2.3 per cent in 2024.
According to the bank, recent data showed a substantial slowdown in economic growth in the eurozone.
Stagnation is projected for the rest of this year and for the first quarter of 2023.
Accordingly, the economic growth forecast for the eurozone has been revised down markedly.
The bank now expects growth of 3.1 per cent in 2022, 0.9 per cent in 2023 and 1.9 per cent in 2024.
–Ajit Weekly News
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