The European Central Bank should use bond purchases more sparingly in the future given costly side effects, Dutch central bank chief Klaas Knot said on Friday just as the ECB is starting a strategy review.

Euro zone inflation will be back at the European Central Bank's 2% target by the summer and interest rates could keep on falling to support the economy, French central bank chief Francois Villeroy de Galhau said just a day after the ECB's fourth straight rate cut.

The European Central Bank is set to lower interest rates for a fifth meeting as inflation that’s nearing the 2% target lets officials further loosen the shackles on the economy.

On Bitcoin, Lagarde’s Czech counterpart Ales Michl yesterday said that his institution will assess whether to hold part of its foreign reserves in Bitcoin. In the US, President Trump has backed the idea of a strategic national Bitcoin reserve.

Despite still elevated domestic inflation, weak growth and inflation projected at target this year strengthen the case for further rate cuts.

The ECB is expected to cut rates by 25bps to 2.75% on Thursday as inflation nears 2% and growth remains weak. Analysts see further cuts in 2025, but US trade tariffs could add uncertainty.

The European Central Bank cut interest rates again Thursday and signalled more to come as the eurozone economy flatlines, while warning of trade tensions and uncertainty amid US President Donald Trump's protectionist agenda.

ECB cuts the deposit rate by a quarter point to 2.75 per cent as expected and offers little shift in tone from December as it continues to move policy away from restrictive territory

For any repeat of the dramatic 1985 "Plaza Accord" between the U.S. and its main allies to weaken a then-stratospheric dollar exchange rate and ease America's widening deficits, the clue is probably in the name: "Accord".

With the bloc facing a bleak outlook, some analysts said the ECB would have to cut rates below the 2% that markets expect to see by year-end. A 2% deposit rate falls in line with estimates for the so-called neutral rate in the euro zone, which neither restricts nor boosts growth.

During the press conference, ECB President Christine Lagarde indicated that the central bank's macro assessment had hardly changed from its December meeting. The ECB still sees the disinflationary process on track and expects a pick up in demand, though it acknowledges the near-term weakness of the eurozone economy.