Barclays: European Central Bank expected to cut interest rates by 25bp next week

The ECB is likely to cut its policy rate by 25 basis points on April 17, bringing the deposit rate down to 2.25 percent, Barclays economists said in a report. They said the expected decision would be justified as downside risks to economic growth materialize as inflation continues to decelerate near the ECB's 2 percent medium-term target. The ECB is likely to continue to portray risks to the inflation outlook as two-way, maintaining caution, avoiding policy guidance for future decisions and sticking to a meeting-by-meeting approach to decision making, they said. Barclays expects the ECB to cut rates by 25 basis points at each meeting until October, when the deposit rate will reach 1.25 percent. (Golden Ten)