European Central Bank hikes rates again and vows more after US Fed hits pause

By DAVID McHUGH
AP Business Writer

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank has pressed ahead with another interest rate hike and is pledging more are on the way. The quarter-percentage point increase Thursday aims to crush inflation that’s driving up the cost of groceries, utility bills and summer vacations. It comes a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve took a break from its own string of increases. In Europe, it was the eighth straight rise since July 2022 as the bank seeks to bring down inflation from 6.1%. ECB President Christine Lagarde says the bank “will continue to hike at our next meeting” in July and it’s “not thinking about pausing.”