On December 19th, Gelonghui reported that ECB council member Simkus stated that as inflation becomes increasingly controlled, the European Central Bank should continue to lower borrowing costs at the current pace. Simkus mentioned that the downward direction of monetary policy is clear. He warned that although the price risks for 2025 appear balanced, there may be downside risks in 2026. "When it comes to future decisions, they will be determined by the data available at that time. But the best-case scenario is to gradually and continuously reduce to a neutral interest rate." Analysts expect the ECB to lower the deposit rate from the current 3% to 2%. However, the path anticipated by market investors is somewhat aggressive (closing at 1.75%). Simkus noted that interest rates will be close to the bottom of the Range of 1.7%-2.5%, which many believe is neutral.