ECB Lagarde departure and eurozone monetary policy 2026
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ECB keeps key interest rate on hold at 2.5%
Mark Wall said Deutsche Bank expects one more hike to 2.75% in December and that would probably be the end of the hiking cycle.
UBS Global Wealth Management chief euro zone and U.K. economist Dean Turner said the decision should be viewed as a hawkish pause rather than the end of the tightening cycle.
Energy price inflation in the euro area reached 18.8%.
ECB President Christine Lagarde announces early departure
German MEP Markus Ferber warned that if the impression arises that Lagarde's departure is timed around national elections, it damages trust in the ECB.
Polls have suggested far-right candidate Marine Le Pen is favoured to win France's presidential election due in April.
Lagarde said in a filmed statement posted on X that she was leaving with a sense of good work done and an ECB that is fit for the future.