The European Central Bank left its key refinancing rate on hold at 4.5% for the fifth time in a row on Thursday, despite falling inflation, in a decision by the bank's governing council.
The deposit rate that banks receive for money parked with them also remains unchanged, at 4%.
Economists generally expect an interest rate cut - much awaited by the economy and private borrowers - to come in June.
Recent inflation rate developments had made the ECB more confident, but "not confident enough," the bank's President Christine Lagarde had said at the beginning of March, adding that they would know a lot more by June.
In June, the ECB experts will present new economic and inflation forecasts.
In order to get a grip on inflation, which has risen to record levels following Russia's war on Ukraine, the ECB has raised interest rates 10 times in a row since July 2022.
This makes loans more expensive, can curb demand and thus counteract high inflation rates. At the same time, more expensive financing is a burden for the economy and private individuals who want to borrow money.
