ECB to delay interest rate cut to June

THE European Central Bank will delay lowering interest rates until June as it seeks more evidence on the effects of the Iraq war on the world’s second-largest economic region, according to a survey of economists.

All but two of 25 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News said the bank won’t cut rates in May. Twenty-one expect a reduction of at least a quarter point in June. In a survey conducted April 4, most had forecast a May rate reduction.

“The war ended soon enough for the ECB to wait and see what the impact is on the economy,” said Luigi Buttiglione, head of European economics at Barclays Capital Plc and a former economist at Italy’s central bank, who expects a half-point cut in June.