ECB interest rate decision for October 2018

ECB president Mario
Draghi.
REUTERS/Kai
Pfaffenbach

• European Central Bank leaves monetary policy entirely
  unchanged at the September meeting of its governing
  council.
• Base deposit rate stays at -0.4%, and will remain there
  until at least next summer, the ECB said.
• It continues to expect to end its quantitative easing
  programme by the end of 2018, having tapered purchases from €30
  billion per month to €15 billion per month.

The European Central Bank on Thursday left monetary policy
in the eurozone unchanged once again, as had been widely expected
by financial markets.

That means a base deposit rate of -0.4%, and a quantitative
easing program capped at €15 billion per month. Purchases were at
€30 billion per month up until the end of September, but the move
to the lower figure had been telegraphed for several
months.

The ECB remains on track to cease purchasing bonds from the
end of 2018, it said, reaffirming its long held stance on the
matter.

It also reiterated its stance that interest rates are
unlikely to rise until at least next year, saying it “expects the
key ECB interest rates to remain at their present levels at least
through the summer of 2019.”

At 8.30 a.m. ET (2.30 p.m. CET), ECB President Mario Draghi
will speak to journalists about the central bank’s announcements
with eyes likely to be on the situation in Italy, which has seen
the country’s government clash with the EU over its proposed
budget. 

Earlier in the week, the EU took the unprecedented step of
formally rejecting Italy’s budget, which proposed pushing the
country’s budget deficit as high as 2.4% of gross domestic
product over the coming years. This means Italy would fall foul
of a previously mandated maximum deficit level of 0.8% of
GDP.