Emmanuel Dunand | AFP | Getty Images
ECB President Mario Draghi reacts as he delivers a speech during a meeting of the Committee on economic and monetary affairs (ECON) at the European Parliament, in Brussels, on May 29, 2017.
The European Central Bank (ECB) left its benchmark interest rate unchanged Thursday, quashing heightened expectations of an immediate change to monetary policy in 2018.
The ECB’s interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility were kept at zero, 0.25 and -0.40 percent respectively.
Earlier in the month, the ECB’s December meeting minutes said the central bank should revisit its communication stance in “early” 2018, prompting market participants to forecast policymakers were preparing to reduce their massive monetary stimulus program. The minutes, which were published on January 11, immediately pushed the euro more than 0.7 percent higher against the dollar, extending the single currency’s rally throughout the opening days of the calendar year.
