23:03 22 April 2021
Interest rates in eurozone remain unchanged
The Governing Council of the ECB left the key interest rates unchanged, according to a press release following the bank's meeting. The ECB maintained the increased pace of asset purchases in the second quarter of 2021 under the PEPP program, the volume of which is still €1.85 trillion.
"The interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 0.00%, 0.25%, and minus 0.50% respectively," the press release reads.
As it added, the Governing Council expects key ECB interest rates to remain at or below their current levels "until the Council concludes that the inflation outlook over the projection horizon is strongly approaching a level that is close enough but below 2 percent and that this rapprochement is consistently reflected in the dynamics of core inflation."
The ECB reiterated its assurance that it could re-adjust all monetary policy tools if necessary. As highlighted in the release, the Governing Council stands ready to adjust all the tools at its disposal to ensure that, in line with its declared commitment to symmetry, inflation steadily tends to the target level.
