The European Central Bank left its key interest rates unchanged on Thursday, as expected, for a sixth policy session in a row amid the significant uncertainty caused by the war in the Middle East and raised the inflation forecasts for euro area as policymakers remain concerned about the impact of surging crude oil price, and expressed their readiness to act if needed.
The Governing Council, led by ECB President Christine Lagarde, left the benchmark interest rate - the deposit rate, steady at 2 percent. The refinancing rate was left unchanged at 2.15 percent and the marginal lending rate at 2.40 percent.
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May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.