Amid inflation, ECB cements July liftoff with bond-buying to end in 3 weeks

The European Central Bank confirms its intention to hike interest rates at its policy meeting next month and downgraded its growth forecasts

The European Central Bank will cease large-scale asset purchases in three weeks -- a key step in confronting record inflation and one that sets the stage for the euro zone’s first interest-rate increase in more than a decade.

Armed with fresh forecasts signaling a faster path for euro-zone prices than previously thought alongside a weaker rebound from the pandemic, officials agreed to halt net bond-buying as of July 1 under a crisis-era program that began in 2015.

The deposit rate -- currently -0.5% -- will then be lifted by a quarter-point next month, and again by either that amount or more