Central Banks
ECB Momentum for an October Rate Cut Is Looking Unstoppable
- Officials judged last month that such a move would be unlikely
- Weaker inflation, feeble economy, ‘tilts the scales’ Rehn says
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An interest-rate cut that European Central Bank officials deemed unlikely just three weeks ago now seems a near certainty when they next set borrowing costs on Oct. 17.
Markedly souring business surveys, the first below-2% inflation reading in more than three years and the reassurance offered by the Federal Reserve’s own shift to easing, have all brought policymakers toward the point where a quarter-point reduction appears to need little more than a formal sign-off.