restriction. in particular, our interest rate decisions will be based on our assessment of the inflation outlook in light of the incoming economic and financial data, the dynamics of underlying inflation and the strength of monetary policy transmission. we are not pre - committing to a particular rate path. the decisions taken today are set out in a press release available on our website. as announced on 13 march 2024, some changes to the operational framework for implementing monetary policy will take effect from 18 september. in particular, the spread between the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the deposit facility rate will be set at 15 basis points. the spread between the rate on the marginal 1 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches lending facility and the rate on the main refinancing operations will remain unchanged at 25 basis points. i will now outline in more detail how we see the economy and inflation developing and will then explain our assessment of financial and monetary conditions. economic activity the economy grew by 0. 2 per cent in the second quarter, after 0. 3 per cent in the first quarter, falling short of the latest staff projections. growth stemmed mainly from net exports and government spending. private domestic demand weakened, as households consumed less, firms cut down business investment and housing investment dropped. while services supported growth, industry and construction contributed negatively. according to survey indicators, the recovery is continuing to face some headwinds. we expect the recovery to strengthen over time, as rising real incomes allow households to consume more. the gradually fading effects of restrictive monetary policy should support consumption and investment. exports should also continue contributing to the recovery as global demand rises. the labour market remains resilient. the unemployment rate was broadly unchanged in july, at 6. 4 per cent. at the same time, employment growth slowed to 0. 2 per cent in the second quarter, from 0. 3 per cent in the first. recent survey indicators point to a further moderation in demand for labour, and the job vacancy rate has fallen closer to prepandemic levels. fiscal and structural policies should be aimed at making the economy more productive and competitive, which would help to raise potential growth and reduce price pressures in the medium term. mario draghi's report on the future of european competitiveness and enrico letta's report on empowering the single market stress the urgent need for reform and provide concrete proposals to make this happen. implementing the eu's revised economic governance framework fully, transparently and without delay will

geopolitical risk. this may result in firms and households becoming less confident about the future and global trade being disrupted. growth could also be lower if the lagged effects of monetary policy tightening turn out stronger than expected. growth could be higher if inflation comes down more quickly than expected and rising confidence and real incomes mean that spending increases by more than anticipated, or if the world economy grows more strongly than expected. inflation could turn out higher than anticipated if wages or profits increase by more than expected. upside risks to inflation also stem from the heightened geopolitical tensions, which could push energy prices and freight costs higher in the near term and disrupt global trade. moreover, extreme weather events, and the unfolding climate crisis more broadly, could drive up food prices. by contrast, inflation may surprise on the downside if monetary policy dampens demand more than expected, or if the economic environment in the rest of the world worsens unexpectedly. financial and monetary conditions market interest rates have declined markedly since our july meeting, mostly owing to a weaker outlook for global growth and reduced concerns about inflation pressures. tensions in global markets over the summer led to a temporary tightening of financial conditions in the riskier market segments. overall, financing costs remain restrictive as our past policy rate increases continue to work their way through the transmission chain. the average interest rates on new loans to firms and on new mortgages stayed high in july, at 5. 1 and 3. 8 per cent respectively. credit growth remains sluggish amid weak demand. bank lending to firms grew at an annual rate of 0. 6 per cent in july, down slightly from june, and growth in loans to households edged up to 0. 5 per cent. broad money – as measured by m3 – grew by 2. 3 per cent in july, the same rate as in june. 3 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches conclusion the governing council today decided to lower the deposit facility rate by 25 basis points. we are determined to ensure that inflation returns to our two per cent mediumterm target in a timely manner. we will keep policy rates sufficiently restrictive for as long as necessary to achieve this aim. we will continue to follow a data - dependent and meeting - by - meeting approach to determining the appropriate level and duration of restriction. in particular, our interest rate decisions will be based on our assessment of the inflation outlook in light of the incoming economic and financial data, the dynamics of underlying inflation and the strength of monetary policy transmission. we are not