European Central Bank makes its largest-ever interest rate increase

The European Central Bank yesterday made its largest-ever interest rate increase. The action came following the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks in a global stampede of rapid rate hikes to arrest record inflation.

The bank’s 25-member Governing Council raised its key benchmarks by an unprecedented 75 basis points for the 19 countries, useing euro



currency. The ECB had never raised its key bank lending rate by three-quarters of a point since the euro’s launch in 1999.

The bank said, it expects more hikes ahead because inflation may rise further in the near term. The central bank noted that the economy was expected to stagnate later in the year.