ECB leaves interest rateunchanged at 0.5%

The ECB left the main interest rate unchanged at 0.5% at its October meeting. The bank’s president, Mario Draghi, said that he was leaving open all policy levers at his disposal to ensure that the fragile recovery remained on track.

An interest rate cut was discussed at yesterday’s meeting, but on balance the board of governors decided to leave it unchanged, he added.

“As expected, the ECB left interest rates unchanged as the outlook for growth that it presented last month has so far been confirmed by incoming data. We agree with the ECB’s analysis of growth prospects for the eurozone. The region is likely to stay out of recession and recover gradually. However, risks to growth remain skewed to the downside,” said Marie Diron, senior economic adviser to Ernest & Young.&.