ATHENS (Reuters) -The European Central Bank is expected to cut euro zone interest rates one more time in June and then pause, policymaker Yannis Stournaras said in comments published on a Greek news outlet’s website on Friday.
The European Central Bank cut interest rates for the seventh time in a year last month and warned that economic growth will take a big hit from U.S. tariffs, bolstering bets for even more policy easing in the months ahead.
“I believe we will reduce interest rates one more time in June and then I see a pause,” Greece’s central banker Stournaras was quoted as saying to Kathimerini.
Echoing his view, Finnish central bank chief Olli Rehn also told Kathimerini: “We are applying data-driven thinking. So, if incoming data and macroeconomic analysis confirm the current outlook for stabilizing inflation and somewhat subdued growth, the appropriate response in June would be to continue monetary easing and lower interest rates.”
“Beyond June, let’s stay on the path of data-driven decision-making at every meeting, especially as we find ourselves under the clouds of pervasive uncertainty due to geopolitics and trade wars,” Rehn added.
(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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