Eurosystem

The inflation that has squeezed European shoppers fell more than expected in March to 2.4 percent, as cost spikes in the grocery aisle eased and overall price rises headed down in the two biggest economies, Germany and France.

The interest rate hikes by the European Central Bank and the increase in net interest income lead to an excessive accumulation of profits in Greek and European banks and fuel the inflation of banking greed ("bankflation"), warns the Center for Planning and Economic Research (KEPE).

The European Central Bank is expected to freeze interest rates again this week, with officials wary of starting to cut before they see more evidence that recent falls in inflation will be sustained.

The European Central Bank meets on Thursday, with markets eyeing any nudge towards an interest rate cut as inflation weakens.

The ECB, expected to hold rates at a record 4%, is navigating a tricky path between keeping rates high long enough to contain inflation while not cutting too late as price pressures ease quickly.

The European Central Bank won't have enough information to decide on interest-rate cuts until June, even as inflation seems to be on track to reach the 2% target this year, Bank of Greece chief Yannis Stournaras has said.

Speaking to Bloomberg, he said that the "recent set of data suggests we will reach 2% in the autumn of this year."

Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras has told Kathimerini he expects the European Central Bank to start reducing interest rates this summer, as inflation is easing much faster than expected.

European Central Bank (ECB) Governor Christine Lagarde suggested on Wednesday that the ECB might implement interest rate cuts in the summer. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Lagarde noted that sufficient data on wage growth would be available by "late spring," enabling central bankers to determine whether eurozone inflation is set to rise or fall.

The Bulgarian government has given its nod to a brand-new Law on the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), specifically designed to facilitate Bulgaria's seamless integration into the Eurozone. This legislation, set to replace the existing law upon the country's adoption of the euro as its official currency, received approval during the Council of Ministers' meeting today.

The European Central Bank must see inflation stably below 3% by the middle of next year before beginning to lower borrowing costs from record highs, ECB policymaker Yannis Stournaras told Reuters on Monday.

The Eurosystem maintained its holdings of Cypriot bonds valued at 6.75 billion euros as of the end of November, data from the Central Bank of Cyprus have shown.

This stability is attributed to the European Central Bank's ongoing efforts to deleverage its balance sheet as a strategy to curb inflation.