ECB holds rates in latest monetary meeting

Confirmed wind down of bond buying in third quarter

The European Central Bank (ECB) held interest rates at its latest meeting on monetary policy this morning, as the Governing Council judged data since its last meeting “reinforced its expectation” that net asset purchases under its asset purchase programme should conclude in the third quarter.

The decision came after Eurozone inflation climbed to 7.5% in March, up from 5.9% in February. According to Gurpreet Gill, macro strategist for global fixed income at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, the central bank had to weigh up macroeconomic forces driving inflation against slowing growth leading to possible stagflation. "The ECB found itself navigating a complex and mixed macroeconomic environment going into today's meeting," she said. "On the one hand, eurozone inflation has hit record highs, driven by soaring energy costs, with the Russia-Ukraine conflict pushing prices upwa...