European Central Bank (ECB) keeps interest rates on hold as Super Mario prepares to update the markets
The European Central Bank (ECB) has kept interest rates unchanged as its president, Mario Draghi, prepares to confront criticisms of the Bank's monetary policy this afternoon.
A statement from the ECB, published ahead of a key press conference with Draghi, said:
The ECB decided that 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 zero per cent, 0.25 per cent, and minus 0.4 per cent respectively.
The decision tees up Mario Draghi to try his hardest to shift the markets in one way or another when he addresses the world's media at 1.30pm.
Read more: What to expect from Mario Draghi's this afternoon
The euro has climbed by around four per cent against the dollar since the start of the year, despite the ECB slashing rates and expanding its bond-buying quantitative easing programme. Before Draghi took to the stage, the euro was trading at $1.1321 and £0.7871.