'Real-life Nightmare Before Christmas': ECB raises interest rates in inflation battle

General view of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany.

The European Central Bank raised interest rates for the fourth time in a row, although by less than at its last two meetings, pledged further hikes and laid out plans to drain cash from the financial system as part of its fight against runaway inflation.

The ECB has been raising rates at an unprecedented pace to rein in prices that have soared since economies reopened after the Covid-19 pandemic, driven by supply bottlenecks and then surging energy costs following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.