ECB Leaves Rates Unchanged at 2.5% as Energy Fuels Inflation Risks

WHO:

IJR - The European Central Bank (ECB) held its key interest rates steady.

CNBC - The ECB’s Governing Council unanimously decided to hold rates; ECB President Christine Lagarde discussed the decision with CNBC’s Annette Weisbach.

CNBC - Lagarde said the Governing Council debated whether a rate hike was appropriate.

WHAT:

IJR - The ECB left its key rates unchanged, including the deposit rate at 2.5%.

CNBC - The ECB kept its deposit facility rate at 2.5%, following a 25-basis-point hike in September.

CNBC - The decision met market expectations despite eurozone inflation rising to a three-year high.

CNBC - The Governing Council said higher energy prices created upside risks to inflation and downside risks to growth; underlying inflation and wages were broadly stable.

CNBC - Lagarde said, “At this point in time we are not seeing second round effects in addition to what is already included in the projections” released in September.

CNBC - Lagarde cited higher costs for oil, petrol, fuel, gas, and refining margins, plus a sharp rise in long-term financing costs; the average 10-year sovereign yield had risen by around 35 basis points.

CNBC - Lagarde said the Council unanimously judged it well positioned to hold rates, citing uncertainty and broadly unchanged underlying inflation, and that “a measured approach” remained appropriate.

CNBC - After the announcement, money markets priced in around a 67% probability of a rate hike in December, according to LSEG data.

IJR - Tighter financing and slowing growth weighed on the eurozone outlook.

WHERE:

IJR - The decision concerned the eurozone.

CNBC - The article described the eurozone as the region whose inflation and growth outlook were discussed.

CNBC - A photograph showed the Euro Sculpture by German artist Ottmar Hoerl in front of the former ECB building in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany.

WHY:

IJR - The ECB held rates amid higher energy costs that threatened to lift inflation, while tighter financing and slower growth weighed on the outlook; future decisions would depend on incoming data.

CNBC - The Governing Council cited rising energy prices, uncertainty, and broadly stable underlying inflation as reasons for holding rates.

HOW:

CNBC - The ECB made the decision through a unanimous Governing Council vote.

IJR - The bank said future policy decisions would be based on incoming data.

(UPDATED October 29, 2026 19:05 UTC)

The European Central Bank unanimously held its key interest rates steady, keeping the deposit rate at 2.5% despite eurozone inflation reaching a three-year high. The ECB said rising energy costs pose upside risks to inflation, while tighter financing and slower growth threaten the outlook; underlying inflation and wages remain broadly stable. President Christine Lagarde said uncertainty and the lack of second-round inflation effects supported a measured approach, with future rate decisions depending on incoming data.