The interest rate applied to deposits that banks hold with the Eurosystem rose from the negative levels recorded last July to 3.25 per cent.
The Council reiterated that future decisions will continue to be guided, on a meeting-by-meeting basis, by an overall assessment of the medium-term inflation outlook in light of new economic and financial data, the performance of the core component and the intensity of monetary policy transmission to the economy. Leverage on key interest rates is still the main element for defining the monetary policy stance.