Table of Contents
Christine Lagarde vowed to continue cutting interest rates in the eurozone amid signs the economy continues to contract.
Declaring that the “darkest days” of high inflation “appear to be behind us”, the head of the European Central Bank said: “The direction of travel is clear and we expected to lower interest rates further.”
Last week, the ECB cut rates for the fourth time this year to 3 percent in a bid to revive the eurozone’s faltering economy.
Data firm S&P Global said yesterday that its closely watched purchasing managers activity index in the region hit 49.5 this month, below the 50 mark that separates growth from decline.
Boost to growth: European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde (pictured) has promised to continue cutting interest rates in the eurozone
This figure was higher than last month’s score of 48.3 – and better than economists expected – but still indicates that the eurozone economy is contracting.
The figures also showed that companies are cutting jobs at the fastest rate in four years in response to a drop in workload.
The slowdown mainly reflects the problems of Germany and France, the euro zone’s two largest economies, which contracted as the rest of the bloc grew.
At the heart of Germany’s problems is the collapse of its once-mighty industrial sector amid the loss of cheap Russian energy and falling demand from China.
DIY INVESTMENT PLATFORMS
AJ Bell
AJ Bell
Easy investing and ready-to-use portfolios
Hargreaves Lansdown
Hargreaves Lansdown
Free Fund Trading and Investment Ideas
interactive inverter
interactive inverter
Fixed fee investing from £4.99 per month
sax
sax
Get £200 back in trading fees
Trade 212
Trade 212
Free trading and no account commission
Affiliate links: If you purchase a This is Money product you may earn a commission. These offers are chosen by our editorial team as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.