The Bank of England, the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank announced interest rate cuts today to try to battle the weakening economy that has battered the Europe region.
The Bank of England voted today to slash its key interest rate by 1.5 percentage points to its lowest level since 1954.
The interest rate cut by Great Britain’s central bank to 3%, from 4.5%, is the largest since a 2-percentage-point reduction in March 1981.
The European Central Bank also took steps to combat the stagnant economy by cutting its benchmark interest rate by 0.5 percentage points to 3.25%.
“The level of uncertainty stemming from financial-market developments remains extraordinarily high, and exceptional challenges lie ahead,” ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said in a statement at a press conference today.
The Swiss National Bank cut its main lending rate by 0.5 percentage points to 2%.
“The global economic outlook has deteriorated more severely than anticipated, which will impact growth in Switzerland the next few quarters,” the SNB said in a statement.
“Today’s relaxation of monetary policy provides an impetus to economic activity and will not jeopardize the return to price stability.”
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