ECB Press Conference: Lagarde speaks on policy outlook after lowering key rates by 25 bps

Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), explains the ECB's decision to lower key rates by 25 basis points at the June policy meeting and responds to questions from the press.

Follow our live coverage of the ECB policy decision and the market reaction.

ECB press conference key highlights

"Survey data point to some weaker prospects in near term."

"Service sector is slowing."

"Higher tariffs, stronger Euro to make exports harder."

"Defence, infrastructure investment to bolster growth."

"Most core inflation figures suggest inflation will stabilize at target."

"Labour costs are gradually moderating."

"We are in a good place after 25 bps rate cut today."

"Decision was almost unanimous, there was one dissenter."

"Risks to growth are to the downside."

"Outlook for inflation more uncertain than usual."

"Fragmentation of global supply chains could raise inflation."

"While Euro area banks remain resilient, broader financial stability risks remain elevated."

"We have not discussed neutral rate."

"Neutral is predicated on absence of shock."

"Facing significant uncertainty."

"Had extensive discussions on impact of disruption of supply chains."

"Getting to the end of the monetary policy cycle."

This section below was published at 12:15 GMT to cover the European Central Bank's (ECB) monetary policy announcements and the immediate market reaction.

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced on Thursday that it lowered key rates by 25 basis points (bps) following the June policy meeting, as expected. With this decision, the interest rate on the main refinancing operations, the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility stood at 2.15%, 2.4% and 2%, respectively.

Key takeaways from ECB policy statement

"In baseline of new Eurosystem staff projections, headline inflation is set to average 2.0% in 2025, 1.6% in 2026 and 2.0% in 2027."

"Staff expect inflation excluding energy and food to average 2.4% in 2025 and 1.9% in 2026 and 2027, broadly unchanged since March."

"Staff see real GDP growth averaging 0.9% in 2025, 1.1% in 2026 and 1.3% in 2027."

"While uncertainty surrounding trade policies is expected to weigh on business investment and exports, especially in short term, rising government investment in defence and infrastructure will increasingly support growth over medium term."

"In context of high uncertainty, staff also assessed some of mechanisms by which different trade policies could affect growth and inflation under some alternative illustrative scenarios."

"Under this scenario analysis, a further escalation of trade tensions over coming months would result in growth and inflation being below baseline projections."

"By contrast, if trade tensions were resolved with a benign outcome, growth and, to a lesser extent, inflation would be higher than in baseline projections."

"Concerns that increased uncertainty and a volatile market response to trade tensions in April would have a tightening impact on financing conditions have eased."

"Especially in current conditions of exceptional uncertainty, it will follow a data-dependent and meeting-by-meeting approach to determining appropriate monetary policy stance."

"Interest rate decisions will be based on its assessment of inflation outlook in light of incoming economic and financial data, dynamics of underlying inflation and strength of monetary policy transmission."

"ECB is not pre-committing to a particular rate path."

"APP and Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) portfolios are declining at a measured and predictable pace, as Eurosystem no longer reinvests principal payments from maturing securities."

Market reaction to ECB rate decision

The ECB's policy announcements don't seem to be having a significant impact on the Euro's valuation. At the time of press, EUR/USD was up 0.05% on the day at 1.1424.

Euro PRICE This week

The table below shows the percentage change of Euro (EUR) against listed major currencies this week. Euro was the strongest against the US Dollar.

The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Euro from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent EUR (base)/USD (quote).

This section below was published as a preview of the European Central Bank's policy announcements at 07:00 GMT.

• The European Central Bank is set to deliver another 25 bps cut to key rates on Thursday.
• The ECB’s updated staff projections and President Christine Lagarde’s presser will be closely scrutinized.
• The EUR/USD pair could move sharply depending on the ECB policy announcements.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is widely expected to reduce key interest rates for the seventh time in a row. The decision will be announced on Thursday at 12:15 GMT.

The interest rate decision will be accompanied by the quarterly staff projections about inflation and growth, while ECB President Christine Lagarde’s press conference will follow at 12:45 GMT.

The Euro (EUR) could experience intense volatility on the ECB announcements against the US Dollar (USD).

Follow our ECB Live Coverage here

What to expect from the European Central Bank interest rate decision?

The ECB is expected to lower the benchmark rate on the deposit facility by another 25 basis points (bps) to 2% from 2.25%, following the conclusion of the June monetary policy meeting.

The main reason behind the rate cut is the decline in inflation towards the ECB’s 2% target. Data released by Eurostat showed that the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) in the Eurozone rose 1.9% year-over-year (YoY) in May, after increasing by 2.2% in April. Additionally, the annual core HICP inflation dipped to 2.3% from 2.7% in the same period.

Still, a bunch of ECB policymakers considered hawks have been vocal last month about their preference for a rate cut pause, given the heightened uncertainty on the economic outlook amid the US-EU trade war.

ECB policymaker Robert Holzmann said that “the ECB should pause further interest rate cuts until at least September.” Board member Isabel Schnabel warned of “new shocks posing new challenges” even as disinflation remains on track. Meanwhile, ECB Governing Council member and Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel argued: “Given the continuing high level of uncertainty, we should therefore remain cautious in monetary policy."

On the trade front, US President Donald Trump threatened on May 23 to impose 50% tariffs on European Union (EU) goods, complaining that the 27-member bloc had been "very difficult to deal with" on trade and that negotiations were "going nowhere." Those tariffs would have kicked in starting June 1.

A couple of days later, Trump said that the United States (US) will delay the implementation of a 50% tariff on EU imports from June 1 until July 9 to buy time for negotiations.

Last Friday, US President announced the doubling down of tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to 50% from 25%. The measure, which would hit Europe hard, is supposed to take effect from June 4.

Amidst lingering uncertainty over the impact of Trump’s trade policies on the old continent’s economic activity and the continued progress in disinflation, the ECB policy statement, quarterly inflation and growth forecasts and President Christine Lagarde’s speech will be closely scrutinized for fresh hints on the central bank’s next interest rate move.

Previewing the ECB’s April meeting, TD Securities analysts said: “We expect a 25 bps cut, with markets and consensus converging on the same. Projections are likely to be lowered for growth and inflation due to global trade policy developments since March.”

“However, citing resilience in the economy and convergence on the inflation target, this cut is likely to be paired with a hawkish tilt in language, suggesting a pause in July,” analysts noted.

How could the ECB meeting impact EUR/USD?

EUR/USD has maintained its bullish momentum so far this year, courtesy of the US Dollar’s underperformance (USD) on growing fears over an economic downturn, likely driven by Trump’s tariff war.

Heading into the ECB showdown, the main currency pair is losing traction due to the renewed buying interest seen around the USD.

Odds of more rate cuts in the future would ramp up in case President Lagarde or the quarterly forecasts suggest that disinflation remains on track despite the tariff-related uncertainty. In this scenario, EUR/USD could extend its correction from six-week highs. If Lagarde voices concerns about the economic outlook, it could reaffirm this dovish view.

Conversely, the Euro could resume its uptrend against the USD if the ECB indicates potential upside risks to inflation and Lagarde suggests prudence ahead in order to assess the tariff impact, fanning expectations of a pause in its easing cycle.

Dhwani Mehta, Asian Session Lead Analyst at FXStreet, offers a brief technical outlook for EUR/USD:

“EUR/USD holds well above all major daily Simple Moving Averages (SMA) while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator stays firm near 56, suggesting that upside risks remain intact for the pair.”

“On the upside, the immediate resistance aligns at the six-week high of 1.1456, above which the 1.1500 round level will be tested. The April 21 high of 1.1574 will be next on buyers’ radars. Alternatively, healthy supports could be spotted at the 21-day SMA of 1.1285, followed by the 50-day SMA at 1.1220 and the 1.1150 psychological barrier,” Dhwani added.

ECB FAQs

What is the ECB and how does it influence the Euro?

The European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany, is the reserve bank for the Eurozone. The ECB sets interest rates and manages monetary policy for the region. The ECB primary mandate is to maintain price stability, which means keeping inflation at around 2%. Its primary tool for achieving this is by raising or lowering interest rates. Relatively high interest rates will usually result in a stronger Euro and vice versa. The ECB Governing Council makes monetary policy decisions at meetings held eight times a year. Decisions are made by heads of the Eurozone national banks and six permanent members, including the President of the ECB, Christine Lagarde.

What is Quantitative Easing (QE) and how does it affect the Euro?

In extreme situations, the European Central Bank can enact a policy tool called Quantitative Easing. QE is the process by which the ECB prints Euros and uses them to buy assets – usually government or corporate bonds – from banks and other financial institutions. QE usually results in a weaker Euro. QE is a last resort when simply lowering interest rates is unlikely to achieve the objective of price stability. The ECB used it during the Great Financial Crisis in 2009-11, in 2015 when inflation remained stubbornly low, as well as during the covid pandemic.

What is Quantitative tightening (QT) and how does it affect the Euro?

Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse of QE. It is undertaken after QE when an economic recovery is underway and inflation starts rising. Whilst in QE the European Central Bank (ECB) purchases government and corporate bonds from financial institutions to provide them with liquidity, in QT the ECB stops buying more bonds, and stops reinvesting the principal maturing on the bonds it already holds. It is usually positive (or bullish) for the Euro.

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