European Central Bank leaves interest rates unchanged

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced on Thursday that it would leave its key interest rates unchanged. The interest rates on the deposit facility, the main refinancing operations and the marginal lending facility will remain unchanged at 2.5 percent, 2.65 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively.

Rising energy prices are posing upside risks to the inflation outlook but underlying inflation has remained broadly stable so far, the ECB said in a press release.  The ECB has hiked interest rates twice this year, pushing the interest rate on the deposit facility up to 2.5 percent from two percent.

The ECB will still continue to follow its data-dependent and meeting-by-meeting approach to determine its future monetary policy stance. The ECB is scheduled to publish its latest edition of the staff projections in December.