ECB leaves key interest rates unchanged

FRANKFURT: The ECB's governing council left its key rates and crisis-fighting stimulus programmes unchanged Thursday, a spokeswoman said, as attention shifts to efforts by European governments to jumpstart the region's pandemic-hit economy.

As expected, the Frankfurt institution held the rate on its main refinancing operations at zero, on its marginal lending facility at 0.25 percent and its deposit facility rate at -0.5 percent.

The bank also left its pandemic emergency bond-buying scheme worth over 1.3 trillion euros ($1.5 trillion) unchanged.