Europe’s central bank to hike rates in July

The bank said inflation had become a ‘major challenge’ (PA)

The European Central Bank (ECB) said on Thursday that it would carry out its first interest rate increase in 11 years next month, followed by another hike in September.

The surprise announcement of two quarter-point increases came after the bank’s 25-member monetary policy council met in Amsterdam, saying inflation had become a “major challenge” and that those forces had “broadened and intensified” in the 19 countries that use the euro currency.