Europe's central bank halts rate hikes as war in the Middle East casts a shadow over the economy

The European Central Bank has taken a break from interest rate increases. The pause announced Thursday follows 10 straight hikes, dating back to July 2022. That record pace of hiking was aimed getting painful inflation under control. But now inflation is down, and the Israel-Hamas war is casting a shadow of uncertainty over the global economy. There are fears about rising oil prices. With that backdrop and concerns growing that high credit costs used to fight inflation might slow economic growth and tip Europe into a recession, the ECB held rates at a record-high 4%.