The European Central Bank left its key interest rate benchmark unchanged Thursday as its rate-setting council and President Christine Lagarde take their time to make sure stubborn inflation is firmly under control before lowering rates again.
The decision leaves the deposit rate at 3.75%, where it has stood after a single quarter-point cut rate at the previous meeting on June 6.
“Domestic price pressures are still high, services inflation is elevated and headline inflation is likely to remain above the target well into next year,” the bank said in a statement accompanying the decision.
That means home buyers and businesses hoping for lower interest rates in Europe are going to have to wait at least until the bank’s September meeting for more affordable credit – and possibly even longer than that.
The ECB’s stance for now resembles that that of the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is expected to hold off lowering rates at its next meeting July 30-31, though the Fed appears …