FRANKFURT, July 22, 2016 (Xinhua) -- The European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi attends a press conference at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, on July 21, 2016. The ECB on Thursday decided to leave key interest rates unchanged and vowed to act by using all instruments available if necessary. (Xinhua/Luo Huanhuan)
FRANKFURT, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday decided to leave key interest rates unchanged and vowed to act by using all instruments available if necessary.
The ECB President Mario Draghi said at a press conference here that the interest rates will remain at present or lower levels for an extended period of time, and "well past the horizon of our net asset purchases."
The ECB did not announce any fresh easing policies. It confirmed that the monthly asset purchases of 80 billion euros (88 billion U.S. dollars) are intended to run until the end of March 2017, or beyond.
With regard to the impact on the economy in the euro area after the referendum in Britian, Draghi noted that headwinds to the economic recovery in the euro area include the outcome of the referendum in Britain and other geopolitical uncertainties, subdued growth prospects in emerging markets, the necessary balance sheet adjustments in a number of sectors and a sluggish pace of implementation of structural reforms.
"Against this background, the risks to the euro area growth outlook remain tilted to the downside," Draghi said.
The Euro area real GDP increased by 0.6 percent, quarter on quarter, in the first quarter of 2016, after 0.4 percent in the last quarter of 2015.
"Growth continues to be supported by domestic demand, while export growth has remained modest," he said.
