News & Feeds April 30, 2023

ECB set to hike again but analysts divided on how much

The European Central Bank is expected to deliver another interest rate increase Thursday, but analysts are divided on how big the hike will be against a backdrop of stubborn inflation and market turmoil. There is little doubt the central bank will hike borrowing costs for the seventh consecutive time as consumer price increases are still way above its two-percent target. The Frankfurt-based institution has already lifted rates 3.5 percentage points since July last year to tame energy and food costs that surged after Russia invaded Ukraine. But there is debate about whether the ECB will opt for a 50-basis point hike