The European Central Bank cut interest rates as expected on Thursday and kept all options on the table for its next meetings even as the case grows for a summer pause in its year-long easing cycle. Following are highlights of ECB President Christine Lagarde's comments at a news conference after the policy meeting.

Previewing the ECB’s April meeting, TD Securities analysts said: “We expect a 25 bps cut, with markets and consensus converging on the same. Projections are likely to be lowered for growth and inflation due to global trade policy developments since March.”

The latest eurozone inflation data will have made easy reading for European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde. May’s Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices, or HICP, a key measure of inflation among members of the bloc,