European Union flags flutter outside the European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, April 26, 2018. (File photo: VCG)

FRANKFURT, July 26 --

The European Central Bank (ECB) Thursday decided to maintain the key interest rates for the euro area and enhanced forward guidance on them unchanged. 

The Eurozone base interest rate will remain at 0.00 percent, with the marginal lending rate and deposit rate remaining at 0.25 percent and minus 0.40 percent respectively.

In line with the forward guidance released after last ECB Governing Council meeting in June, the ECB went on expecting that the key interest rates will remain at their present levels at least through the summer of 2019, and in any case for as long as necessary to ensure the continued sustained convergence of inflation to levels that are below, but close to, 2 percent over the medium term.

The ECB reaffirmed that the monthly net asset purchases will be cut to 15 billion euros ($17.6 billion) from October until the end of December 2018 and that net purchases will then end.

Besides, the ECB intends to reinvest the principal payments from maturing securities purchased for an extended period of time after the end of the net asset purchases.