ECB holds interest rates steady

FRANKFURT -- The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday decided to leave key interest rates unchanged at its rate-setting meeting.

The central bank keeps key interest rates at historic high in view that it is still on course to bring the medium-term inflation back to its target range.

The interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 4.5 percent, 4.75 percent and 4 percent, respectively, said a statement by the ECB.

The ECB acknowledges that inflation in the euro area has been declining and expects it to continue to fall.

Inflation in the euro area declined to 2.6 percent in February from 2.8 percent in January, according to the statistical office of the European Union.

The ECB staff forecasts in March lowered the inflation to 2.3 percent in 2024 and 2 percent in 2025. Economic growth in the block, according to the latest projections, has been cut down to 0.6 percent in 2024.

In what appears to be a repeat of its past rhetoric, the central bank said, "The Governing Council's future decisions will ensure that policy rates will be set at sufficiently restrictive levels for as long as necessary."

It also repeated that it will keep a close eye on incoming data, which will help the central bank to make its future rate decisions.