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Big News Network.com
03 Jul 2025, 21:12 GMT+10

A wave of central banks across Europe surprised markets last week by lowering interest rates, responding to easing inflation and rising fears over global trade disruptions — many tied to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats and the growing instability in the Middle East.

The Swiss and Norwegian central banks led this week's moves, becoming the latest to cut rates. The Bank of England held steady but flagged a downward bias, while the U.S. Federal Reserve kept its benchmark rate unchanged, citing persistent domestic inflation.

"Inflationary pressure has decreased compared to the previous quarter," said the Swiss National Bank, which cut rates by 25 basis points to zero and left the door open for negative rates if needed.

Norway's central bank, long seen as the most hawkish in Europe, also unexpectedly trimmed its policy rate by 25 basis points. "Inflation has declined since the monetary policy meeting in March," Governor Ida Wolden Bache said, noting a softer inflation outlook with May's figure at 2.8 percent.

Sweden's central bank similarly cut rates to 2.00 percent from 2.25 percent and signaled more easing could follow to support sluggish growth. The European Central Bank, which cut rates on June 6 for the eighth time in a year, has now signaled a temporary pause, declaring that inflation has returned to its 2 percent target after years of overshooting.

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