The first meeting of the ECB’s Governing Council for 2024 last Thursday saw the Central Bank maintain its key deposit rate at 4%, as expected. It represented the third policy meeting in-a-row that the ECB has not hiked rates. The question remains though - when will the ECB begin its rate cutting cycle in 2024? President Lagarde was not for turning just yet though, stating during her press conference that the consensus in the Governing Council was that it was premature to discuss rate cuts. However, her less than wholehearted commitment to her prior “summer 2024” rate cut comment at Davos yielded a dovish response from markets, with investors increasing bets on the possibility of an earlier spring cut.