ECB left the “very accommodative monetary policy stance” unchanged as widely expected. Main refinancing rate was held at 0.00%, marginal lending rate a and deposit rate at 0.25% and -0.50% respectively. Rates will “remain at their present or lower levels until it has seen the inflation outlook robustly converge to a level sufficiently close to, but below, 2% within its projection horizon, and such convergence has been consistently reflected in underlying inflation dynamics.”
Envelope of the “pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP)” is kept at EUR 1850B, running through at least March 2022. Asset purchase programme (APP) will continue at monthly net purchase of EUR 20B. ECB will will also continue to provide “ample liquidity” through refinancing operations, in particular the third series of targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTRO III).
