What gets published
The Governing Council announces changes (or no change) to the deposit facility rate, main refinancing rate, and marginal lending rate.
Brief statement outlining the policy rationale and assessment of the inflation outlook.
ECB President Lagarde holds a press conference at 14:45 CET with the monetary policy statement and Q&A.
How to read it
This is the rate banks receive on excess reserves — effectively the ECB's policy rate floor. A cut here signals easing monetary conditions.
The ECB has moved to "data dependent, meeting by meeting" guidance. Watch for any language about the pace or conditions for further cuts.
Real interest rate →October is not a projection meeting (those are in March, June, September, December). The October decision relies on current data and the September projections.
Core inflation →On the day
October 2026 · times in CETMonetary policy decisions posted on ecb.europa.eu.
Press conference and Q&A on the policy outlook.
Decision in context of current euro-area inflation and ECB targets.