The European Central Bank yesterday responded to fears of deflation across the eurozone by unexpectedly cutting interest rates to a record low and insisting that it had more weapons in its “artillery” to prevent falling prices.

欧洲央行(ECB)昨日对席卷欧元区的通缩担心做出反应，出人意料地削减利率至创纪录低位，并坚称其“弹药库”中还有更多武器来阻止价格下滑。

Mario Draghi strengthened his reputation as a bolder ECB head than his predecessor, presiding over a cut which left the central bank’s benchmark main refinancing rate at 0.25 per cent and sent the euro tumbling against the dollar. .

欧洲央行行长马里奥•德拉吉(Mario Draghi)加强了他比前任更加大胆的名声，在他领导下出台的这次降息，使欧洲央行基准主要再融资利率降至0.25%，压低了欧元兑美元汇率。

A fall in inflation last month to less than half the ECB’s target of just under 2 per cent has heightened concerns that disinflation, or even a period of Japan-style deflation, could add to the currency bloc’s economic woes. Though most analysts thought the ECB would wait until December to cut, Mr Draghi said there was now a possibility that the bloc could “experience a prolonged period of low inflation”.

上月欧元区通胀率下跌，尚不及欧洲央行设定的2%目标的一半，这加剧了各方的担心，即欧元区可能陷入通缩，甚至进入一段时期的日本式通缩，进而给当前的经济困境雪上加霜。虽然多数分析人士认为欧洲央行将等到12月份再削减利率，但德拉吉表示，欧元区有可能“经历一段漫长的低通胀时期”。

The euro initially recorded its sharpest fall in almost two years. While it later clawed back some of those losses, it remained down about 0.8 per cent by late afternoon in London, trading at $1.34.

欧元汇率最初出现近两年来最大跌幅。尽管随后有所攀升，但昨日晚些时候伦敦市场上跌幅仍在0.8%左右，至1欧元兑1.34美元。

Investors applauded the decision, sending European stocks to five-year highs at one point and eurozone bond yields tumbling. Most bourses eventually gave up their gains, but bond markets remained buoyant.

投资者赞扬这一决定，推动欧洲股价一度涨至5年来最高点，欧元区债券收益率下跌。多数股市的涨幅最终消失，但债券市场依然看涨。

The support for the cut was not unanimous among the 23-member governing council, with Jens Weidmann, Bundesbank president, among a minority that called for rates to remain on hold at least until the central bank publishes a fresh round of economic forecasts next month.

欧洲央行23名成员的管理委员会对削减利率的支持并不一致。德国央行(Bundesbank)行长延斯•魏德曼(Jens Weidmann)等一小部分人士呼吁，在欧洲央行下个月发布新一轮经济预测之前，利率保持不变。

The council also agreed to keep on providing potentially unlimited quantities of cheap loans to eurozone banks until the second half of 2015, though the deposit rate, which the central bank pays on lenders’ reserves parked at the ECB, remained at zero.

该委员会还同意继续向欧元区银行提供潜在无限量的廉价贷款，持续到2015年下半年，不过储蓄利率（欧洲央行支付给各银行存放在央行的准备金的利率）依然是零。