Source: Sharecast
The bank’s governing council, meeting as scheduled in Frankfurt, left the main financing rate at 2.15%, the deposit facility at 2% and the marginal lending rate at 2.4%.
Inflation currently stands at 2% in the Eurozone, leading many commentators to believe that the easing cycle has now run its course.
The ECB sees headline inflation averaging 2.1% this year, 1.7% in 2026 and 1.9% in 2027.
For GDP, growth for 2025 was revised up to 1.2% from 0.9%, its previous forecast made in June. The bank's projection for 2026 is now slightly lower, however, at 1%.
The expectation for growth of 1.3% for 2027 was unchanged.
Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets, said: "Inflation remains largely at target, and economic indicators such as the manufacturing PMI have managed to make a significant recovery over the past year.
"This highlights the potential desire for the ECB to hold back some ammunition, shifting the focus away from further stimulus and towards the resilience of the underlying economy."
The ECB has cut rates eight times, from 4%, since June 2024. In common with central banks around the world, it hiked the cost of borrowing as it sought to get rampant inflation under control.
In July, however, ECB president Christine Lagarde said the Eurozone economy was "in a good place".
She told reporters: "We are in this wait-and-watch situation. We are in a good place because our projections point to inflation stabilising at target in the medium term."
The Bank of England next meets to discuss interest rates on 18 September. However, while UK economic growth remains sluggish, sticky inflation means most analysts expect the cost of borrowing to be left on hold.
