The European Central Bank on Thursday offered no surprises as it cut interest rates for the eighth time in a year — further widening the differential between official U.S. and eurozone policy rates, a gulf that has prompted President Donald Trump to lash out repeatedly at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

It was the eighth rate cut in the past year, extending the bank’s divergence from the Federal Reserve, which has held rates steady since the end of last year.

The European Central Bank cut interest rates by a quarter-percentage point again on Thursday, the latest attempt to help a euro area economy hit by the President Trump's trade war. Why it matters: Trade negotiations between the U.