Monetary Policy

The Governing Council of the ECB decided at yesterday’s meeting to leave its key interest rates unchanged. The interest rate on the deposit facility, which best reflects the monetary policy stance, thus remains at 2.0% for the second consecutive meeting. The decision was made on the basis of the latest data, which shows inflation in the euro area holding close to its 2% medium-term target rate, and the latest projections. These forecast that inflation will fluctuate close to this value over the medium term, while economic growth will remain modest at around 1%. Our next steps will be based on an assessment of the inflation outlook and the risks surrounding it, the dynamics of underlying inflation, and the strength of monetary policy transmission.