(Bloomberg) -- The European Central Bank is set to cut interest rates for the fourth time this year, loosening constraints on the region’s struggling economy as inflation nears 2%.

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All but one analyst polled by Bloomberg predict another quarter-point reduction in the deposit rate on Thursday, to 3%. Only JPMorgan Chase sees a bigger, half-point move, arguing that recent data point to softer growth and inflation.

Officials are certainly worried about the economic trajectory, with some fretting that persistent sluggishness could drag inflation below target. They’re also grappling with government collapses in Germany and France, and are trying to gauge how Donald Trump’s economic agenda will impact not just Europe, but also the Federal Reserve.

But against that backdrop, there’s a preference to lower borrowing costs only gradually. Helping shape their path during the months ahead will be fresh quarterly projections that are likely to signal weaker price gains and gross domestic product in 2025.

The ECB will announce its decision at 2:15 p.m. in Frankfurt. President Christine Lagarde will host a press conference 30 minutes later.

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Interest Rates

When the ECB brought forward its third rate cut to October, the economic situation looked so dismal that officials debated whether they’d have to follow up with a 50 basis-point move to avoid falling behind the curve.

That discussion eventually fizzled out as GDP was stronger than anticipated in the third quarter. Only a handful of policymakers demanded that a large reduction remain on the table in December.

Investors have all but stopped pricing the risk of such a step, though they reckon it’s a possibility for one of the next meetings. Economists expect consecutive quarter-point decreases until the deposit rate reaches 2%.

With even hawks agreeing that Thursday’s cut won’t be the last, the ECB may tweak the language in its policy statement — specifically the part that currently says it will “keep policy rates sufficiently restrictive for as long as necessary.” It will want to stay flexible, though, and is unlikely to depart from its “meeting-by-meeting” approach.

Policymakers have also begun looking further ahead by staking out positions on whether rates will have to fall below neutral — a theoretical threshold that neither restricts nor stimulates the economy and is generally considered to be about 2%.