ECB keeps rates unchanged

The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday announced that it would keep key interest rates unchanged amid tentative signs of economic stabilization in the eurozone.

The central bank reconfirmed in the latest edition of their forecast that inflation will swing around 2 percent from 2025 to 2028, with headline average inflation estimated at 2.1 percent in 2025, 1.9 percent in 2026, 1.8 percent in 2027, and 2.0 percent in 2028.

The interest rates on the deposit facility, the main refinancing operations, and the marginal lending facility will remain unchanged at 2 percent, 2.15 percent, and 2.4 percent, respectively.

The ECB repeated in a statement that it is "not pre-committing to a particular rate path".

The projections reconfirm "inflation should stabilize at the 2 percent target in the medium term," said the ECB statement.

Thanks to stronger consumption and investment, the euro zone economy grew by 0.3 percent in the third quarter. The ECB expects domestic demand to continue to drive up the economic growth in the euro zone in the coming years.

Forecast of the euro zone economic growth has been revised up to 1.4 percent in 2025, 1.2 percent in 2026, 1.4 percent in 2027 and 1.4 percent in 2028.

The "robust labor market", according to the ECB, also contributed to the economic growth in the third quarter. Unemployment rate stood at 6.4 percent in October, which was close to the historical low.

ECB keeps rates unchanged

ECB keeps rates unchanged

Impact of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is pushing Gulf countries to revisit costly plans for pipelines to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, so that they can continue to export oil and gas, the Financial Times newspaper reported on Thursday.

"Officials and industry executives say new pipelines may be the only way to reduce Gulf countries' enduring vulnerability to disruption in the strait, even though such projects would be expensive, politically complex and take years to complete," said the report.

"Previous plans for pipelines across the region have repeatedly stalled, undone by high costs and complexity," it said.

The Strait of Hormuz is a vital global energy corridor bordered by Iran to the north.

Around a fifth of global liquefied natural gas supply passed through the Strait of Hormuz, which also carries about one quarter of global seaborne oil trade.

Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities on Feb. 28, killing Iran's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone strikes against Israel and U.S. assets in the Middle East, while tightening control over the Strait of Hormuz by restricting passage to vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States.

Gulf countries consider new pipelines to avoid Strait of Hormuz: Financial Times