Central Banks

ECB Rate Cut Will Be Rare Bright Spot in Troubled Euro Area

  • Easing shows euro area’s stability, but economy is sickly
  • Policymakers face pressure to push growth-friendly policies

Christine Lagarde

Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg
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This week’s interest-rate cut is a milestone for the European Central Bank.

For the first time in two decades policymakers get to start a monetary-easing cycle without having their hand forced by a financial emergency. Instead, investors are signaling confidence about the euro area and keeping yields in check.