The European Central Bank on Thursday lowered its annual inflation forecast, as its confirmed a widely expected hold of interest rates.
ECB President Christine Lagarde, meanwhile, suggested market pricing for a June rate cut was coming into line with policymakers' outlook.
Looking ahead, staff see inflation hitting the ECB's 2% target in 2025 and cooling further to 1.9% in 2026.
They meanwhile updated their forecast for economic growth for 2024 to 0.6% from 0.8%, as the euro zone's economic activity escapes its current stagnation.
The ECB will be "laser-focused" on two areas of inflation that could surprise, namely wage growth and profit margins, Lagarde said.
Persons:
Christine Lagarde, Lagarde
Organizations:
European Central Bank, ECB