FRANKFURT, Germany, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Economic data point to the probability that the European Central Bank will lower its key lending rate next week, Swiss Bank UBS said.
UBS expects the eurozone's bank to lower its bank-to-bank rate by a quarter of a percentage point at its policy meeting Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Guy Foster, portfolio manager at Brewin Dolphin, said a rate cut is more likely in December.
"But what's more important is what the ECB can do beyond that," Foster said, suggesting "something along the lines of easing, like a long-term refinancing operation."
Eurostat said this week inflation in the eurozone had slipped to an annual rate of 0.7 percent in October, a four-year low that suggests inflation could turn negative, a dynamic known as deflation that is marked by a hesitation to make purchases, which slows the economy further.
Eurostat said unemployment in the eurozone hit a record 12.2 percent in August, a rate that was unchanged in September.
Observers say the unemployment rates in some countries are alarming.
In both Greece and Spain, the jobless rate using the most recent data available is close to 27 percent. In Portugal, the unemployment rate is 16.3 percent. In Italy it is 12.5 percent. In France it is 11.1 percent.
