One month before the first anniversary of what's become the European Central Bank's most aggressive tightening cycle on record, the ECB is continuing its fight against inflation and hiked its policy rate by 25bp. The deposit rate is now at 3.5%. A year ago, it stood at -0.5%. The ECB also made official what it had already announced at the May meeting; the reinvestments of bond purchases made under the Asset Purchase Programme will stop next month. Despite a recent softening, actual headline and core inflation remain too high. With expectations for inflation to return to target only in two years' time, there are clear ... (full story)