The European Central Bank (ECB) cut all three key eurozone interest rates for the second time this year, as falling inflation, driven by lower energy prices, created space for further monetary easing.
The decision came after the ECB's monetary policy meeting on Thursday at its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany.
The deposit facility rate, which reflects the ECB's monetary policy stance, was lowered by 25 basis points to 3.50 percent. The main refinancing rate, the rate banks pay when borrowing from the ECB, dropped by 60 basis points to 3.65 percent. The marginal lending rate, the rate charged for overnight loans, was also cut by 60 basis points to 3.90 percent.
In June, the bank reduced all three key rates by 25 basis points, the first cut since pausing its rate hikes in October 2023. In July, the ECB chose to keep the rates steady.
Preliminary data released by Eurostat on August 30 showed that eurozone inflation dropped to a three-year low of 2.2 percent in August, primarily due to declining energy prices.
Analysts said the sharp decline in inflation paved the way for the ECB's latest move to ease monetary policy in September.
ECB cuts eurozone rates as inflation hits two-year low
China's development of green industries and the country's initiative of building a unified national market have made steady progress over the first three quarters of 2024, according to the data published by the State Taxation Administration on Sunday.
The tax data highlighted that the development of green industries has gathered pace in Jan-Sept, reflecting a resilient and diversified economic landscape.
Sales revenue in the ecological protection and environmental governance sectors surged by 11.4 percent, while the green technology services sector, including renewable energy and energy-saving solutions, witnessed a growth of approximately 20 percent. As China's broader strategy has continued emphasis on transition toward a more sustainable and innovative paradigm, sales in the clean energy sector, including solar, wind, and hydropower, maintained a rapid growth.
The transportation and logistics sector also registered faster growth, with sales revenue rising by 10 percent year on year. In particular, the growth in multimodal transport and freight forwarding services saw increases of 33.5 percent and 11.3 percent, respectively. The transportation sector in Sept alone experienced a 10.6 percent growth.
Moreover, interprovincial sales volume rose by 2.5 percent, outpacing the overall growth rate of national enterprise sales revenue by 1.1 percent, reflecting a steady progress in building a unified national market.
China on April 10, 2022 unveiled guidelines for accelerating the building of a unified national market, envisioning breaking local protection and market fragmentation and unblocking key sticking points that weigh on economic circulation, as part of a wide-ranging push for an effectively regulated, fairly competitive and fully open market across the country.
China’s green industries, unified national market initiative make steady progress: data
China’s green industries, unified national market initiative make steady progress: data
