“The risks to economic growth are balanced in the near term,” the European Central Bank (ECB) said in its Economic Bulletin published on Thursday.

Additional takeaways

The Governing Council is determined to ensure that inflation returns to its 2% medium-term target in a timely manner. It will keep policy rates sufficiently restrictive for as long as necessary to achieve this aim. After five quarters of stagnation, the euro area economy grew by 0.3% over the first quarter of 2024. Most measures of underlying inflation declined further in April, the last month for which data were available, confirming the picture of gradually diminishing price pressures. However, domestic inflation remains high. The risks to economic growth are balanced in the near term but remain tilted to the downside over the medium term.