MADRID (AP) — A man died from rising floodwaters in Portugal, while a girl remained missing after she was swept away by a swollen river in Spain as Storm Leonardo brought more heavy rain and winds Thursday to the Iberian Peninsula.
In Spain's southern Andalusia region, close to 4,000 people evacuated their homes due to the ongoing storm, and dozens of roads remained closed due to flooding and landslides.
Spain's weather agency lifted the highest alert level in southern Spain, but added that another storm system was expected over the weekend. Leonardo is the latest in a series of storms that have pummeled Spain and Portugal in recent weeks.
On Wednesday night, a man died in southern Portugal after his car was engulfed by floodwaters, local media said.
The southern Portuguese city of Alcacer do Sal, about 90 kilometers (about 56 miles) from Lisbon, was battling rising waters from the river Sado, with downtown areas flooded and water levels measuring two meters (roughly 7 feet) high in some places.
Heavy rains were expected to lash several regions in Portugal in the coming days. A previous storm in late January left a trail of destruction in the country and killed several people, according to Portuguese authorities.
In southern Spain's Malaga province, authorities were still searching for a girl who fell into the Turvilla river Wednesday while trying to save her dog.
View of the flooding in the town of Grazalema on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, affected by flooding during heavy rains that hit southern Andalusia. (Joaquín Corchero/Europa Press via AP)
View of the flooding in the town of San Martin del Tesorillo on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, affected by flooding during heavy rains that hit southern Andalusia. (Francisco J. Olmo/Europa Press via AP)
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged Thursday as the economy in the 21 countries that use the euro chugs past the disruption from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs with modest yet resilient growth.
The bank left its benchmark deposit rate at 2%, where it has been since June. after a series of cuts from the peak of 4% starting in mid-2024.
“The economy remains resilient in a challenging global environment,” bank President Christine Lagarde said, opening her post-meeting news conference. She said growth is being supported by low unemployment, increased government spending on defense and infrastructure, and the past series of rate cuts.
“At the same time, the external environment remains challenging owing to higher tariffs and a stronger euro," she said.
The reduced rate has been low enough to re-start mortgage lending for home sales and new construction due to reduced credit costs, boosting growth. Low unemployment is also contributing to demand for goods by consumers and helping keep the economy resilient without the stimulus of further rate cuts.
As a result, the chief monetary authority for the eurozone may leave its rates unchanged into 2027, analysts say. The eurozone grew a stronger than expected 0.3% in the last three months of 2025, and may reach growth of 1.3% for all of this year, according to forecasts by Berenberg bank.
Growth prospects have brightened due to anticipation of higher spending on infrastructure and defense by Germany, the eurozone’s biggest economy. In France, the culmination of Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s long and difficult battle to enact a 2026 budget -- eventually using special powers to force it through a deadlocked parliament without a vote -- lifted a dark shadow from the No. 2 eurozone economy.
Meanwhile energy costs have abated since a painful spike in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Europe weathered months of uncertainty as Trump threatened to raise tariffs to levels that could have choked off much of Europe’s trade with the US. In the end, a deal with the EU’s executive commission capped the tariff rate at 15%, a sharp increase from 4.8% previously but not as bad as feared. The deal removed uncertainty and let businesses plan. That’s despite Trump’s brief threat to add more tariffs on some EU countries that opposed his demands for a US takeover of Greenland.
Inflation has fallen to below bank’s target of 2%, coming in at 1.7% in January. Economists at Berenberg said they expect the bank to leave rates unchanged until strengthening growth calls for a rate hike in mid-2027. Rate hikes combat inflation by raising credit costs and dampening demand for good bought on credit, from houses to new factories.
Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, talks during a Bank of England Monetary Policy Report press conference in London, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (Carl Court/Pool Photo via AP)
Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, 2nd left, flanked by Clare Lombardelli, from left, Katie Martin, and Dave Ramsden talks during a Bank of England Monetary Policy Report press conference in London, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (Carl Court/Pool Photo via AP)
Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, talks during a Bank of England Monetary Policy Report press conference in London, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (Carl Court/Pool Photo via AP)
FILE - The Euro sculpture stands in front of the former headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, May 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, talks during a Bank of England Monetary Policy Report press conference in London, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (Carl Court/Pool Photo via AP)
