The European Central Bank on Thursday offered no surprises as it cut interest rates for the eighth time in a year — further widening the differential between official U.S. and eurozone policy rates, a gulf that has prompted President Donald Trump to lash out repeatedly at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

The European Central Bank today cut its benchmark deposit rate by 0.25 percentage points, taking it to 2 per cent.

Lower inflation and concern that U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war will slow already modest growth have cleared the way for the European Central Bank to cut interest rates at Thursday's policy meeting,