On July 24, the European Central Bank (ECB) maintained its key interest rates unchanged at 2.00% on Thursday, as expected, to await clearer signals on the direction of EU-US trade relations. With current inflation having fallen back to the target level of 2.00% and interest rates having been lowered from 4.00% to 2.00% since June last year, the policy pressure facing the ECB has been greatly eased. The ECB stated that it will continue to adhere to the "meeting-by-meeting" approach, will not pre-set the interest rate path, and all decisions will be based on the latest data.

The statement said that the latest information is broadly consistent with previous assessments of the inflation outlook, with domestic price pressures continuing to ease and wage growth slowing. Markets are still betting on at least one more rate cut later this year. Market focus is shifting to President Lagarde's press conference later, where she is expected to face intense questioning about whether to continue cutting interest rates in the future, the strength of the euro exchange rate, and the impact of tariffs. [BlockBeats]