Source: Sharecast
This marked the first increase in rates since September 2023.
"The Governing Council is committed to setting monetary policy to ensure that inflation stabilises at its 2% target in the medium term," the ECB said in a statement.
"In line with this commitment, it today decided to raise the three key ECB interest rates by 25 basis points. The war in the Middle East is generating inflation pressures, and the decision to raise rates is robust across a range of scenarios mapping out how the shock might evolve and affect the medium-term outlook for the euro area."
Interest rates on the main refinancing operations and the marginal lending facility will also be lifted by 25 basis points to 2.40% and 2.65%, respectively, with effect from 17 June.
The ECB said it now expects headline inflation to average 3.0% in 2026, 2.3% next year and 2.0% in 2028. It had previously forecast inflation at 2.6% in 2026, 2.0% in 2027 and 2.1% in 2028. "Compared with March, staff have revised up their baseline projection for inflation in 2026 and 2027 owing to a higher path for energy prices, which, to some extent, is expected to feed into food, goods and services inflation," it said.
The Bank also downgraded its economic growth projections to an average of 0.8% in 2026, 1.2% in 2027 and 1.5% in 2028. It pinned the downward revision for 2026 and 2027 on a more pronounced impact of the war on commodity markets, real incomes and confidence.