FRANKFURT (AFX) - President of the Ifo economic research institute Hans Werner Sinn said he expects the European Central Bank to cut interest rates by 0.25 pct this year as inflationary pressures in the euro zone ease. "Since inflation is set to ease in the euro zone in the coming months, we are expecting the ECB to cut rates by a further quarter of a point during the course of the year", Sinn told the Ifo institute's annual meeting. "A deeper cut would be preferable to Germany, but for many other countries the level of interest rates is already lower than before and therefore having a very expansionary effect", he added.