The ECB keeps its rates: energy and inflation remain under watch
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The 29 October decision leaves the three key interest rates unchanged. The inflation target must be distinguished from the deposit facility rate.
In this article
The 29 October decision
The European Central Bank announced that it is keeping its three key rates. They remain at 2.50% for the deposit facility, 2.65% for the main refinancing operations and 2.90% for the marginal lending facility. These are central bank rates.
The risks being monitored
The ECB stresses that rising energy prices risk speeding up inflation and slowing growth. It will decide meeting by meeting, based on the data available. It does not promise a precise path for future rates.
Not to be confused with the 2% target
The ECB aims for 2% inflation over the medium term. This figure is not of the same nature as the 2.50% key rate. The first concerns the movement of prices; the second is an instrument of monetary policy.
Reading “unchanged”
Leaving unchanged means not modifying. Keeping a key rate does not mean that all prices or all credit contracts are frozen. Identifying what each figure measures avoids mixing up different indicators.
Learn the grammar
French grammar
Learn sentence patterns and usage from the article’s own sentences.
01Negation and its scope
ne / n’ … pas · ne … plus
Elle ne promet pas une trajectoire précise pour les taux à venir.Key pointsNormally ne and pas wrap the verb. Before a vowel, ne becomes n’. Check which part of the sentence the negation covers. Ne … plus means “no longer”.
02The construction il s’agit de
il s’agit de + noun / infinitive
Il s’agit de taux de banque centrale.Key pointsIt explains what something is about: “it is a matter of…”. The il is not a particular man but a formal subject of this construction. The negative il ne s’agit pas de means “this is not about…”.
03The passé composé for events
present of avoir + past participle
La Banque centrale européenne a annoncé le maintien de ses trois taux directeurs.Key pointsIt reports past events, as in “announced” or “explained”. A / ont is the auxiliary avoir and the next word is the past participle. The passé composé alone does not tell you the date of the event.
04The present of être
est / sont + complement
Ce chiffre n’est pas de même nature que le taux directeur de 2,50 %.Key pointsEst is third-person singular and sont third-person plural of être. They express “is / are” — a state or description. If a past participle follows, it is a different structure such as the passive, so check the words that follow.
05Delimiting an interval
de … à … / du … au …
La BCE vise une inflation de 2 % à moyen terme.Key pointsDe…à… shows the start and end, “from … to …”, and is also used for changes in figures. With dates, de + le becomes du and à + le becomes au, giving forms like du 13 au 15. Check whether the interval concerns dates, times or amounts.
06Dates and their prepositions
le + 日付 / du … au …
La décision du 29 octobre laisse inchangés les trois taux directeurs.Key pointsLe 15 octobre means “on 15 October”. Distinguish the le before a date from the le that marks a weekly habit like a weekday. Du is de + le and au is à + le, so decide the meaning from the verb and period expressions around them. Their role depends on the group: a range of dates, the date of a bulletin or another complement.
Japanese grammar
Understand the structure and usage from the text.
01Rejecting an interpretation
〜わけではない / 〜という意味ではない
将来の金利の道筋を約束したわけではありません。Key pointsThese forms limit and deny an interpretation: “it does not necessarily follow” or “that is not what is meant”. They do not necessarily deny every fact in the sentence. Read what is being denied together with the earlier part.
02Polite negation and plain form
〜ではありません / 〜ではない
この数字は、今回の2.50％という政策金利と同じ種類の数字ではありません。Key pointsThey negate a noun and similar content. “ではありません” is the polite form and “ではない” the plain form. “成立ではありません” shows that it cannot be said to have been concluded.
03The polite past ました
verb stem (連用形) + ました
欧州中央銀行は29日、三つの主要政策金利を据え置くと発表しました。Key pointsIn “発表しました”, ました makes a verb polite past. The negative is “ませんでした”. Read the actual date together with the date and time in the text.
04Quoting with と: content and report
plain-form sentence + と + verbe de parole (報じる, 説明する…)
今後の判断は、その時々のデータに基づいて会合ごとに行うとしています。Key pointsと takes the content that is reported or explained. In “改定する方針だと報じました”, “改定する方針だ” is what the report said. Separating the content from who said it and how makes long sentences easier to read.
05Linking actions with the て-form
verb て-form + next expression
物価上昇率の目標と、預金ファシリティ金利を区別して読みます。Key pointsThe て-form links actions in a series, in order or as a reason. In “確認して、出発する” the relation is judged from the content. In “〜ている” it can show an action in progress or a continuing state.
06Linking two nouns with の
noun A + の + noun B
29日の決定では、主要な三つの金利を変更しませんでした。Key pointsA explains noun B that follows. It is not only possession: the relation can be belonging, target, content and more. In “政府の案” and “年金の税控除”, read the relation from the context.