The European Economic Council (ECB) is expected to maintain signalling rather than action as the Iran war raises inflation fears. The ECB President Christine Lagarde and colleagues are likely to offer reassurance they will respond if needed, without committing to action. The Bank of England, Sweden's Riksbank, and the Swiss National Bank are also expected to announce policy decisions on Thursday. The U.S. Federal Reserve recently left rates unchanged and kept a rate cut for later this year, but raised its inflation forecast and said it had low conviction in its own projections due to uncertainty around energy costs and the duration of the war. Economists at Barclays predict that the ECB would raise rates in a scenario where Brent crude prices settle at around $100 a barrel and natural gas at 70 euros per megawatt-hour, some 15 euros above where it was on Wednesday. However, for now, the ECB will tolerate this tightening of credit conditions. Bond markets are already anticipating higher government borrowing due to the crisis, which is likely to increase borrowing costs for euro zone companies and households.