European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Thursday that euro area economic activity is set to remain sluggish in the near term and the unemployment could rise further in the face of slower job creation, as policymakers decided to continue hiking interest rates in a steady manner. Earlier on Thursday, the ECB Governing Council raised its key interest rates by 50 basis points, in line with expectations, and signaled that policymakers plan to repeat the move in March, when they will evaluate the future path of policy rates.
Citing the modest 0.1 percent GDP growth in the euro area in the fourth quarter of 2022, Lagarde said, "While above the December Eurosystem staff projections, this outcome means that economic activity has slowed markedly since mid-2022 and we expect it to stay weak in the near term."
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April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.