FRANKFURT, July 23 (Xinhua) -- The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday announced that it will keep the three key interest rates unchanged.

File photo: Xinhua

The decision to put interest rates on hold has been made at a time when oil prices are shooting up due to the escalation of the Iran war.

"The outlook for energy prices, while highly volatile, currently stands close to the baseline of the June Eurosystem staff projections and well above the levels recorded prior to the conflict in the Middle East," the ECB said in a press release.

The interest rate on the deposit facility, also referred to as ECB's main policy rate, stays at 2.25 percent and the rates on the main refinancing operations and the marginal lending facility will remain unchanged at 2.4 percent and 2.65 percent.