The interest rate for short-term procurement of money, the top refinancing rate, also remained unchanged at 4.75 percent. The deposit interest rate, which is of interest to savers, remains at its all-time high of 4.0 percent.
The ECB Council continues to aim for a return to an inflation rate of 2.0 percent. Most recently, the inflation rate in the euro zone was 2.6 percent. However, rising wages could lead to uncertainty and thus a delay in reaching the two percent mark. The ECB wants to prevent this wage-price spiral.
The central bankers continued to describe the financing conditions as “restrictive” and the previous interest rate increases dampened demand. This contributed to the decline in inflation. Experts expect the first interest rate hikes to take place in the summer at the earliest. The ECB has not yet commented on this.
The central bankers had raised key interest rates ten times in a row since July 2022 due to escalating inflation. It wasn’t until October of last year that they took a break for the first time, which continues to this day.
