ECB leaves interest rates at historic lows

Interest

Berlin, Dec. 12, 2019 (dpa/NAN) The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday kept interest rates at a record low, saying it would hold borrowing costs at their present levels on an open-ended basis amid weak inflation.

The ECB’s 25-member governing council said it was holding its key refinancing rate at zero and maintaining its new bond-buying programme at 20 billion euros (or 22.3 billion euros) a month.

The bond-buying scheme was launched on Nov. 1.

The bank also said it was holding its deposit rate at minus 0.5 per cent and the marginal lending rate at plus 0.25 per cent.

However, under its forward guidance policy, ECB said rates would remain at their present levels until it noticed the inflation outlook robustly converged to a level sufficiently close to its inflation target of below two per cent. (dpa/NAN)
YI/AIB
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Edited by Yahaya Isah/Abdulfatah Babatunde