The ECB left the rates unchanged and will complete assets purchases till the end of 2018

(Reuters) – The European Central Bank on Thursday announced that it will curtail the asset purchase program from the end of December 2018, and rates will remain at current levels at least until the fall of 2019.

The ECB said that by the end of September 2018, asset purchases will continue at a volume of 30 billion euros per month, and from the end of September to the end of December 2018, its monthly volume will be 15 billion euros, after which the program will be completed.

Following the meeting, the regulator left the overnight deposit rate at minus 0.40 percent per annum. The main refinancing rate, which determines the cost of lending in the economy, remained at the level of 0.0 percent, the rate of emergency lending for banks was 0.25 percent.

The Governing Council of the ECB expects that key rates will remain at current levels at least until the end of summer 2019 and in any case as long as the inflation dynamics will continue to meet the current expectations of its steady adjustment.

According to the ECB, the decisions taken at the meeting will allow further movement of inflation to levels below, but close to 2 percent in the medium term.

(Francesco Kanepa, Balash Koranyi, translation and text of Marina Bobrova, editor Anton Kolodyazhny)