The European Central Bank kept its main refinancing rate on hold at 0.75 per cent... JR comments

Jose Rodrigo Umaña Martinez

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ECB keeps rates on hold at 0.75 per cent
The European Central Bank kept its main refinancing rate on hold at 0.75 per cent on Thursday, shrugging off fears that the slowdown across the eurozone that is now hitting its biggest economy, Germany, warranted a cut.
Mario Draghi, president, was due to give more details about the ECB governing council’s discussion surrounding the rate decision at a press conference at 1.30pm GMT.
One justification for holding off from any further rate cuts is that the ECB wants to give its as yet untested bond-buying programme more time to work. The so-called Outright Monetary Transactions or OMT scheme is designed to remove speculation from financial markets of a euro break-up, which the ECB says has been preventing its standard rate-setting actions from being effective in lowering borrowing costs for companies and households in countries with distressed bond markets.