| Draghi's conference in focus as ECB keeps rates on hold | The European Central Bank kept its main refinancing rate on hold at 0.75 per cent on Thursday, hours after the Bank of Japan stunned investors with a dramatic easing plan that will see it double its monetary base over two years. The Bank of England also kept rates on hold at 0.5 per cent.
Mario Draghi, ECB president, was due to give more details about the governing council's discussion on the rate decision at a press conference at 1.30pm BST.
The ECB has been reluctant to cut its own interest rates further, which might involve moving into negative territory on its 0 per cent deposit rate, and would face difficulty adopting a quantitative easing programme itself. Yet inflation has been falling below the bank's 2 per cent target, unemployment is at a record high and the 17-nation bloc remains in recession.
http://link.ft.com/r/A1TNOO/7ZI7XE/UU4QGA/C4V74D/JQ6H4R/E4/h?a1=2013&a2=4&a3=4
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