On the 21st, the European Central Bank (ECB) readjusted the benchmark interest rate by 0.5 percentage points to 0%.
The ECB’s rate hike is the first in 11 years since July 2011, and the European Central Bank has maintained negative interest rates since 2014 to revitalize the economy.
The ECB announced in a statement following the monetary policy meeting on the same day that it had decided to raise the deposit rate and marginal lending rate by 0.5 percentage points to 0% and 0.75%, respectively.
ECB President Christine Lagarde explained the background to the move, saying, “Economic activity in the eurozone is slowing and Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine is hampering growth.”
Earlier, at the Monetary Policy Meeting last month, the ECB decided to raise the key interest rate by 0.25%p in July and announced that it would raise the key rate further in September, but it raised 0.5%p all at once.
The ECB’s measures will take effect from the 27th to catch up with Europe’s record inflation, Bloomberg News and other major media reported.
Last month, the European Union’s annual inflation rate jumped to 9.6%, and the Eurozone CPI rose 8.6% in 19 countries, the highest in more than 40 years.
VOA News
