European Central Bank set to hold rates amid uncertain inflation [Video]

FRANKFURT — The European Central Bank is set to keep interest rates steady this week after cutting in June for the first time since September 2019.

The hold would come amid uncertainty about underlying inflation dynamics, especially stemming from the labor market, which have weighed on the central bank’s resolve to embark on a rapid path of cuts.

“ECB speakers, including President [Christine] Lagarde and Chief Economist [Philip] Lane, have made it quite clear that the July meeting is set to be more of a stock-taking exercise than a policy-decision meeting, also given the absence of new staff forecasts,” Anatoli Annenkov of Societe Generale said in a recent research note.

“With no new quarterly data available, e.g. GDP, compensation and labour productivity data, the [ECB’s] Governing Council will instead have to make do with mostly …