The European Central Bank has decided to raise the reference interest rates by 50 basis points (ie 0.5 percentage points), a little less than expected and what it had already done in recent months. The move follows yesterday evening’s move by the Federal Reserve, the American central bank, which in turn raised rates by half a point, bringing them above 4 percent, a level not seen for 15 years.
These decisions come after months of even more intense and aggressive rate hikes, equal to 75 basis points, which were aimed at slowing down the economy and therefore also inflation, i.e. the increase in prices which is causing serious difficulties families and businesses. For some weeks there have been signs of a slowdown in inflation and this is probably why the Fed and the ECB have chosen to raise interest rates less markedly than in recent months.
