With a flurry of central bank meetings occurring in the two weeks before the Christmas break, the majority have been opting for further rate cuts. Most pertinently for the Irish economy, the ECB delivered an expected 25 basis point (bps) cut, accompanied by a dovish tilt in its meeting statement. This leaves the Deposit rate at 3.00% and the Re-fi rate at 3.15%. In particular, the statement dropped the reference to keeping policy “sufficiently restrictive”, indicating a more dovish bias on the ECB Governing Council. This tone was echoed by President Lagarde in her press conference, but she remained “data-dependent” in terms of the future path for rates. The market expects the ECB will continue to ease policy in 2025 given the weakening growth and inflation profile in the Eurozone.
