ECB chief Christine Lagarde (pictured) said the single currency bloc was 'set to remain weak in the near term' as the rate was cut from 3% to 2.75%.

Europe's economy has stagnated at the end of last year as former growth engine Germany floundered to the end of a second straight year of shrinking output.

"If trade tensions don't escalate, exports should support recovery as global demand rises."

Despite Bitcoin’s growing adoption, ECB President Christine Lagarde signaled Thursday that member states are unlikely to follow suit.

The ECB cut rates by 25bps to 2.75%, with Lagarde signalling further easing if inflation declines. Growth risks persist amid weak confidence and geopolitical tensions. She ruled out Bitcoin as a reserve asset,

ECB officials reduced the deposit rate by a quarter-point to 2.75%. They continued to describe their current monetary-policy stance as ‘restrictive’, signaling more loosening is in the pipeline, while

ECB President Christine Lagarde expressed confidence that no European country would establish Bitcoin reserves.

EURO zone government bond yields edged lower on Thursday (Jan 30), ahead of a European Central Bank (ECB) policy meeting which is widely expected to cut rates by 25 basis points and keep the door open to further policy easing.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is giving a press conference following the bank’s latest monetary policy decision.

KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP The European Central Bank cut interest rates again Thursday, January 30, and signaled more to come as the eurozone economy flatlines while warning of trade tensions and uncertainty amid American President Donald Trump's protectionist agenda.

The re-election of Donald Trump should serve as a “wake-up call” for EU leaders, Lagarde and Germany's Habeck warned.

The European Central Bank is "not overly concerned" by the impact of inflation abroad on the bloc, the institution's President Christine Lagarde told CNBC.