PARIS: European stocks retreated on Monday after notching up strong gains in recent weeks, as auto shares declined and comments from central bank officials tempered bets of early interest rate cuts next year.

The pan-European STOXX 600 edged 0.3% lower after the benchmark logged its first five-week winning streak since April on Friday.

Putting pressure on equities and lifting European bond yields, a slew of European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers pushed back against market expectations that the central bank will cut interest rates as early as March.

Any talk of the ECB cutting rates is still premature, Slovak central bank chief Peter Kazimir said. The central bank will need at least until spring before it can reassess its policy outlook, ECB policymaker Bostjan Vasle said.

Equity markets rallied across the board last week after the US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged as expected and policymakers’ projections for next year accounted for three interest rate cuts.

“The markets may be a little punch-drunk following Powell’s move to top up the punch bowl, rather than remove it as is the central banker’s more normal duty,” said Rupert Thompson, chief economist at Kingswood.

“But risk assets still have scope for further gains over the coming year and should outperform cash.” For more clues on the state of the global monetary policy cycle, investors will monitor the euro zone’s November consumer prices, Japan’s central bank decision and the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge - personal consumption expenditure for November - throughout this week.

Germany’s blue-chip DAX fell 0.6% from record levels hit last week after a survey showed German business morale unexpectedly worsened in December and also showed a decline in expectations.

Automakers were also a big drag, with Mercedes Benz and BMW Group shedding more than 1% each after the German government decided to end a programme that paid subsidies to buyers of new electric vehicles.

Energy stocks jumped 1.1% and oil prices rose 3% as growing attacks by the Iran-aligned Yemeni Houthi militant group on ships in the Red Sea disrupted maritime trade.

However, shipping stocks kept rising across Europe after the attacks led to bets that a prolonged disruption to the key route could lead them to raise their rates.

Danish shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk rose 3.1%, while Italian shipper D’Amico climbed 5.6%.

Vodafone gained 3.9% on Iliad’s proposal to merge their Italian businesses.

OCI jumped 20.9% to the top of the benchmark STOXX 600 after the Netherlands-based chemicals maker announced its second stake sale in four days and said the pair of deals would bring it $7.2 billion in tax-free cash proceeds.