European Central Bank keeps three key interest rates unchanged

The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) has decided to keep the three key ECB interest rates unchanged, the ECB said in a media statement on February 5.

The meeting of the Governing Council was the first since Bulgaria became a member of the euro zone on January 1 2026, with central Bulgarian National Bank governor Dimitar Radev attending the meeting as a voting member.

The ECB statement said that the Governing Council’s updated assessment reconfirms that inflation should stabilise at its two per cent target in the medium term.

“The economy remains resilient in a challenging global environment,” the statement said.

“Low unemployment, solid private sector balance sheets, the gradual rollout of public spending on defence and infrastructure and the supportive effects of the past interest rate cuts are underpinning growth. At the same time, the outlook is still uncertain, owing particularly to ongoing global trade policy uncertainty and geopolitical tensions.”

The statement said that the Governing Council is determined to ensure that inflation stabilises at its two per cent target in the medium term.

It will follow a data-dependent and meeting-by-meeting approach to determining the appropriate monetary policy stance.

In particular, the Governing Council’s interest rate decisions will be based on its assessment of the inflation outlook and the risks surrounding it, in light of the incoming economic and financial data, as well as the dynamics of underlying inflation and the strength of monetary policy transmission.

The Governing Council is not pre-committing to a particular rate path, the statement said.

The interest rates on the deposit facility, the main refinancing operations and the marginal lending facility will remain unchanged at 2.00 per cent, 2.15 per cent and 2.40 per cent, respectively.