Lagarde speech: Trade friction could weigh on growth

Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), explains the ECB's decision to lower the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points at the December policy meeting and responds to questions from the press.

Key quotes

"Underlying inflation is in line with sustained return to target."

"Profits to partially offset higher labour cost."

"Expecting inflation to fluctuate near current level in near term."

"Most measures of inflation expectations at around 2%."

"Risks to growth are tilted to downside."

"Trade friction could weigh on growth."

"Wages, profits, geopolitics are among upside risks to inflation."

"Downside risks to inflation include low confidence, geopolitical stress, low investment."

"Macroprudential policy remains the first line of defense against the build-up of financial vulnerabilities."

Euro FAQs

What is the Euro?

The Euro is the currency for the 20 European Union countries that belong to the Eurozone. It is the second most heavily traded currency in the world behind the US Dollar. In 2022, it accounted for 31% of all foreign exchange transactions, with an average daily turnover of over $2.2 trillion a day, according to data from the Bank of International Settlements. EUR/USD is the most heavily traded currency pair in the world, accounting for an estimated 30% of all transactions, followed by EUR/JPY (4%), EUR/GBP (3%) and EUR/AUD (2%).

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