ECB to go slow on rate cuts as elections feed risks, poll shows

Faced with such uncertainty, officials led by President Christine Lagarde are not pre-committing to a path for rates, pledging to decide as data arrive

Analysts now rank November’s US presidential vote and the threat of another term for Donald Trump as the biggest danger to the region’s economy, while France’s turmoil has stirred memories of Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis last decade. Photographer: Hannelore Foerster/Bloomberg via Getty Images 

The European Central Bank will take a measured approach to lowering interest rates as political upheaval opens up a litany of risks to inflation’s return to 2%, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts.

After June’s initial quarter-point reduction, respondents expect officials to take a timeout when they meet next week. Cuts are expected to resume again in September, coming once a quarter until the deposit rate reaches 2.5% a year later.