European Central Bank leaves interest rates unchanged, meeting consensus

By Tuba Ongun

The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday decided to keep its three key policy interest rates constant at record-high levels, in line with economists' expectations.

The interest rate on the main refinancing operations and on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 4.50%, 4.75%, and 4.00% respectively, said the statement.

It underlined that the downward trend in underlying inflation has continued, besides an energy-related upward base effect on headline inflation

"Tight financing conditions are dampening demand, and this is helping to push down inflation," it said.

Eurozone's annual consumer inflation in December rose to 2.9% from an over 2-year low of 2.4% in November, according to the latest Eurostat data.