ECB cuts interest rate by half a point to 3.25%

06 November 2008 12:49  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday cut its basic interest rate by 50 basis points to a two-year low of 3.25% amid greater evidence that the global economy is slowing.

 

The move follows rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England in an attempt to stave off recession after the global financial sector went into turmoil last month.

 

Large job losses in the US, decline in the services sector, falling house prices and the UK’s faltering manufacturing sector all contributed to signs the global economy is heading for a historic slowdown.

 

In early October the ECB, along with the Bank of England and US Federal Reserve, announced emergency rate cuts of half a percentage in an attempt to curb meltdown in global stockmarkets.

 

Bookmark Paul Hodges’ Chemicals and the Economy blog for some independent thinking on the subject

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Author: Mark Watts
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