Our monetary policy statement at a glance - May 2023
What did we decide?
We raised interest rates by a further 0.25 percentage points
Our future interest rate moves will depend on how we see the economy and inflation developing and how well our rate hikes are taming inflation.
We are ending part of our asset purchases
In July we will stop buying bonds under our asset purchase programme.
What is going on in the economy?
Inflation has come down from its peak but is still too high
Energy prices have dropped sharply in recent months. But prices for food and services are still rising strongly.
The economy is a mixed picture
Services are doing well because people are consuming them quite a lot. Manufacturing firms still have a large amount of orders to work off, but the outlook is worsening for them.
Rising wages and higher profits are behind high inflation
Workers are getting larger pay rises to make up for high inflation. Businesses have put up prices to cover this and are also making bigger profits.
Fewer people and businesses are taking out loans
Since interest rates are higher now, mortgages have become more expensive. For the same reason, fewer businesses are borrowing money to fund investments.
Look at the details
MONETARY POLICY DECISIONS
Here is what the Governing Council decided about the ECB’s interest rates and instruments at its latest meeting.
Press releaseMONETARY POLICY STATEMENT
Read our explanation of the reasons behind the latest monetary policy decisions.
Monetary policy statement