European Central Bank slows pace of rate hikes but vows more
ECB raises interest rates by a quarter-point to fight inflation, slowing pace like U.S. Federal Reserve
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank slowed the pace of its interest rate increases Thursday, stepping back like the U.S. Federal Reserve from a string of jumbo hikes aimed at snuffing out inflation. But The ECB also says it is "not pausing" even as its efforts are working by making mortgages and business loans harder to get.
The quarter-point hike comes a day after the Fed approved the same increase but hinted it may be the last for now. The central bank for the 20 countries that use the euro currency started later and said it has further to go even as economic growth slows to a crawl and U.S. bank instability stirs new fears of financial turmoil.
"Based on the information we have today, we have more ground to cover, and we are not pausing," ECB President Christine Lagarde said at a news conference. She later added, "This is a journey. We have not arrived yet."
Lagarde said there's no "magic number" but that the bank "will know what that is when we get there." Inflation has declined for several months, but at 7% is still far above the ECB's goal of 2% considered best for the economy.
