---
title: "ECB keeps key rates unchanged while watching energy-driven inflation"
url: https://reviewjourn-l.com/news/ecb-keeps-rates-unchanged-energy-inflation-watch/
description: "Euro-area inflation slowed in June, but policymakers said the full effect of the energy shock had yet to appear."
published: 2026-08-08
updated: 2026-08-08
author: "Reviewjourn L"
---

# ECB keeps key rates unchanged while watching energy-driven inflation

By Reviewjourn L · Published 2026-08-08

World Economy

Euro-area inflation slowed in June, but policymakers said the full effect of the energy shock had yet to appear.

Source event or release: July 23, 2026

The European Central Bank left its three key interest rates unchanged on July 23 as policymakers weighed slowing recent inflation against the risk that higher energy costs could spread more broadly through the euro-area economy.

The deposit facility rate remained at 2.25 percent, the main refinancing operations rate at 2.40 percent and the marginal lending facility rate at 2.65 percent. The Governing Council said it would continue deciding policy meeting by meeting, without committing in advance to a particular rate path.

Euro-area headline inflation decreased to 2.8 percent in June from 3.2 percent in May. Energy inflation slowed to 8.5 percent from 10.8 percent, while food inflation eased to 1.5 percent from 1.9 percent. Inflation excluding energy and food declined to 2.4 percent from 2.6 percent. Services inflation fell to 3.2 percent from 3.5 percent.

Despite those monthly declines, the ECB said energy prices remained well above levels recorded before the Middle East conflict and that the full inflationary effect of the shock had not yet appeared. Higher input costs can pass into the prices of food, goods and services, and policymakers said they were monitoring both indirect effects and possible second-round effects involving wages and expectations.

The ECB's asset-purchase programme and pandemic emergency purchase programme portfolios will continue declining because the Eurosystem no longer reinvests principal from maturing securities. That gradual balance-sheet reduction remains part of the monetary-policy setting alongside the three policy rates.

The unchanged-rate decision should therefore be read as a decision to wait for more information, not as a declaration that inflation risks have disappeared. Before its next scheduled assessment, the ECB expected additional inflation, growth, wage, survey and credit data.

Reporting basis

## Primary records

- [ECB monetary-policy decisions, July 23, 2026](https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2026/html/ecb.mp260723~29f24d99bc.en.html)
- [ECB monetary-policy statement and Q&A](https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/press_conference/monetary-policy-statement/2026/html/ecb.is260723~b6fadd48f4.en.html)
- [ECB July decision explained](https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/press_conference/visual-mps/2026/html/mopo_statement_explained_july.en.html)

Facts and qualifications in this brief were checked against these records on August 8, 2026.

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