1st LD: ECB holds interest rates steady

FRANKFURT, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday decided to leave key interest rates unchanged at its first monetary policy meeting of 2026, marking the fifth consecutive hold since July 2025.

The deposit facility rate, the primary tool used by the ECB to steer monetary policy, remains unchanged at 2 percent and hence the rates on the main refinancing operations and the marginal lending