ECB set for last easy rate cut as trade fuels inflation discord

Key sticking point in further interest rate cuts is Donald Trump’s tariffs — specifically, their knock-on effects for eurozone prices

Investors may not get a lot more guidance from ECB president Christine Lagarde on Thursday. Rather than hinting what may happen, the ECB has recently preferred to highlight the factors on which its decisions will be based. Picture: Liesa Johannssen/Bloomberg

The European Central Bank is set to lower interest rates for the final time on Thursday, before an increasingly complicated inflation outlook risks bringing internal divisions to the fore.

As price risks recede, officials have cut seven times in the last year with little friction on the 26-strong Governing Council. An eighth move is expected this week, bringing the deposit rate to 2%.