Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), announced at the first press conference of 2024 that the Governing Council has decided to keep the ECB's three main interest rates unchanged. The central bank is determined to bring inflation back to its target of 2% over the medium term. Current interest rates, if maintained for long enough, should make a significant contribution to this objective. The eurozone economy appears to have stagnated in the last quarter of 2023. The labour market remains robust, with the unemployment rate falling to 6.4% in November, the lowest since the creation of the euro. Lagarde stressed the importance of gradually reducing energy-related support measures to avoid increasing inflationary pressures in the medium term. She also called for fiscal and structural policies aimed at boosting the economy's productivity and competitiveness, as well as reducing high public debt ratios. Inflation rose to 2.9% in December, mainly due to the expiry of some earlier fiscal measures. Inflation excluding energy and food also fell to 3.4%, with services inflation stable at 4%. Lagarde expects inflation to continue to fall over the course of the year.
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