European Central Bank keeps easy money stance despite better growth

The European Central Bank left its ultra easy monetary policy stance unchanged as expected on Thursday, keeping rates at record lows and even leaving the door open to more asset buys if the outlook worsens.

After ECB chief Mario Draghi raised the prospect of policy tightening last month, he signalled that any policy tweaks would come only gradually, setting the scene for a possible discussion in September about a long-awaited tapering of its asset buys.

"We need to be persistent and patient because we aren't there yet, and prudent," Draghi told his regular news conference after a meeting of ECB policy-makers in Frankfurt.

He stressed that the bank's governing council were unanimous both on the decision to keep its guidance unchanged and to avoid setting a precise date for a discussion of future policy, noting only that it would occur in the autumn.

With the euro zone economy now growing for the 17th straight quarter, its best run since before the 2007-08 global financial crisis, that at least suggested the ECB is starting to contemplate easing off the accelerator, preserving some firepower after printing nearly 2 trillion euros to jump start growth.

The prospect of reduced monetary stimulus has kept financial markets edgy, with investors sifting through clues to gauge how big central banks around the globe will unwind unconventional policy that have kept borrowing costs at rock bottom.
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