There would be no prospect of an increase in the ECB's key lending rate, ECB President Mario Draghi said. Following his speech, the single currency fell by 0.7% to $1.1536.
Last week the regulator announced it is set to reduce its bond buying program. Currently, the bank is boosting the euro zone money supply by buying €30 billion of assets every month, but this will be reduced to €15 billion a month after September and ended completely at the end of the year.
The ECB also left its key lending rate unchanged at 0.0%. Both the deposit rate and the marginal lending facility were also left steady at -0.4% and 0.25%, respectively. The bank plans to keep rates on hold until next summer at the earliest.
Last month, the eurozone saw an increase in inflation to its highest level in 13 months. Consumer prices rose by 1.9% year-on-year. According to Draghi, the euro area inflation is steadily gaining momentum, and key economic indicators are strengthening. At the same time, despite the wage growth, inflation is not accelerating at a quick pace, the ECB’s president stressed.
