The European Central Bank (ECB) cut the policy interest rate for the fourth consecutive time.

A euro sculpture in front of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany. /Courtesy of Yonhap News Agency

The ECB held its first monetary policy meeting of the year on the 30th (local time) in Frankfurt, Germany, and announced it reduced the deposits rate from 3.00% to 2.75% and the base rate from 3.15% to 2.90%, each by 0.25 percentage points.

The ECB also lowered the marginal lending rate from 3.40% to 3.15%. Among these three policy interest rates, the ECB focuses its monetary policy on the deposits rate.