The European Central Bank cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point to 2.5% on Thursday as inflation nears 2% and growth remains weak. View on euronews

The European Central Bank cut its economic growth expectations for the euro zone once more on Thursday and raised its projection for inflation this year, even as it predicted price growth back at target in 2026.

The news that the European Central Bank has cut rates for the sixth time in the past 12 months is a positive development for Irish consumers and businesses.

Christine Lagarde said the central bank is switching “to a more evolutionary approach” as it will take longer for inflation to cool towards its 2pc target.

Euro zone inflation dipped a bit less than expected last month but its most closely watched component also dropped, sealing the case for another ECB interest rate cut on Thursday and solidifying bets for further policy easing in the coming months.

Consumer prices in the eurozone were 2.4% higher in February than a year earlier, a slower rate of inflation than recorded in January, reassuring news for central bank policymakers as they prepare to meet later this week.

The European Central Bank cut interest rates as expected and kept the door ajar to more, even as a looming trade war with the US and plans to boost military spending drive Europe's biggest economic policy upheaval in decades.

The bank cuts rates from 2.75% to 2.5% but faces pressures from threatened US tariffs and plans to boost military funding.

The euro edged higher after the European Central Bank cut interest rates but signaled it could move cautiously with further easing. The euro rose 0.3% to $1.082. It had been flat

Euro-area inflation eased, boosting confidence that it’s approaching the 2% target as the European Central Bank enters the last leg of interest-rate cuts.

The European Central Bank is expected to cut interest rates again this week in a bid to boost the floundering eurozone economy, even as debate heats up about when to