ECB leaves benchmark interest rate unchanged, as expected

At its first meeting of 2019, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) decided to leave the interest rates on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility unchanged at 0.00%, 0.25% and -0.40%, respectively. Attention now turns to the ECB President Mario Draghi's press conference at 13:30 GMT.

Related articles:

When is the ECB interest rate decision and how could it affect EUR/USD?

The European Central Bank (ECB) is scheduled to announce its monetary policy decision later today at 1245 GMT and will be followed by the usual post-meeting press conference at 1330 GMT. The central bank is widely expected to maintain status quo and leave its forward guidance intact that rates will remain at their current levels at least until this summer.

ECB: Growth downgrades and dovish shifts can move markets – ABN AMRO

Nick Kounis, head of financial markets research at ABN AMRO, suggests that they expect the ECB to downgrade its expectations for economic growth, change its guidance to signal policy rates will remain on hold this year and extend its TLTRO programme at its upcoming meet today.

About ECB's press conference

Following the ECB´s economic policy decision, the ECB President gives a press conference regarding monetary policy. His comments may influence the volatility of EUR and determine a short-term positive or negative trend. His hawkish view is considered as positive, or bullish for the EUR, whereas his dovish view is considered as negative, or bearish.