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ECB keeps base interest rate unchanged at 0 pct

Xinhua, January 20, 2017 Adjust font size:

The governing council of European Central Bank (ECB) announced on Thursday its base interset rate will remain unchanged at 0.00 percent, despite that eurozone is facing an increasing inflation rate.

Euro area annual inflation reached a three year high of 1.1 percent in December 2016, up from 0.6 percent of the previous month, according to figures released by the European Union's statistics agency Eurostat.

The inflation figure in December 2016 reflected an obvious increase but still within ECB's mid-term expectation.

Defending ECB's current monetary policy, the bank chief Mario Draghi said the quantitative easing scheme would continue until inflation in the euro area goes back ECB's objective of "under but close to 2 percent."

Draghi said eurozone inflation could rise in coming months, due to higher oil prices as well as the ECB's policy. Endit