国际英语新闻：ECB cuts key rate by 25 points to 1.25%

FRANKFURT, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday decided to cut the key interest rate of the Euro zone by 25 basis points to a fresh low of 1.25 percent.

    "The interest rate on the main refinancing operations of the Euro system will be decreased by 25 basis points to 1.25 percent, starting from the operation to be settled on 8 April 2009," the Frankfurt-based ECB announced on its website after an ECB Governing Council meeting held earlier on the day.

    This is the sixth time the ECB has cut the rate to counter the economic downturn in the euro zone in seven months.

    "We look at all possible angles of the situation and we took the decision by consensus," ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet explained the decision at a press conference after the council meeting.

    Trichet said this is "the lowest interest rate" since the founding of the ECB itself.

    "Today's decision takes into account the expectation that price pressures will remain subdued, reflecting the substantial past fall in commodity prices and the marked weakening of economic activity in the euro area and globally," he explained.

    "The latest economic data and survey information confirm that the world economy, including the euro area, is undergoing a severe downturn. Both global and euro area demand are likely to remain very weak over 2009, before gradually recovering in the course of 2010," he added.

    Trichet did not exclude the possibility of further interest cut in the future, telling the press that "I don't exclude we could, in a measured way, go down from present level. "

    "We will continue to monitor very closely all developments over the period ahead," he added.

    Previously, economic observers had widely expected the ECB would cut rate by 50 basis points.

    Following the ECB's decision, the euro rebounded against major currencies on Thursday. According to the reference rates issued by the ECB, the European single currency rose to 1.3392 U.S. dollars from 1.3246 U.S. dollars a day earlier.