ECB Remains at Standstill, Oil Prices Surge Back to $100 Pushing Up Expectations of a Rate Hike in September.

On Thursday (23rd local time), the European Central Bank announced that it would keep the three key interest rates unchanged. The deposit facility rate, the main refinancing rate, and the marginal lending rate were maintained at 2.25%, 2.40%, and 2.65% respectively, in line with market expectations. This is the first time the ECB has held interest rates steady since raising them for the first time in nearly three years in June. July is not a quarterly forecast meeting, and the Governing Council did not have any new staff macroeconomic projections available. The next forecast will be released on September 10th, making the signal of this meeting far more significant than the decision itself.