It was the eighth rate cut in the past year as officials try to steer Europe’s economy through “exceptional” uncertainty.

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.

The European Central Bank cut interest rates for the eighth time in a year on Thursday, acknowledging inflation was under control and turning more pessimistic about the euro zone's economic prospects amid risks of a trade war with the United States.

The EU is pressing China to loosen restrictions on exports of rare earths because of an “alarming situation” for the bloc’s car industry, with production lines in danger of grinding to a halt. European trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said he had questioned Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao about the shortage of vital rare earth elements and magnets in a meeting on Tuesday.

It was one of my priorities to address this issue yesterday and we did,” Sefcovic told reporters Wednesday in Paris, where he’s attending a conference at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.