ECB hikes rates by 75 bps

FRANKFURT - The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday decided to raise key interest rates by 75 basis points after a regular governing council meeting.

After the hike, the interest rates on the main refinancing operations, the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will be lifted up to 2 percent, 2.25 percent and 1.5 percent respectively, with effect from Nov 2.

"With this third major policy rate increase in a row, the Governing Council has made substantial progress in withdrawing monetary policy accommodation," ECB said in a statement.

To justify the rate hikes, the central bank said that the inflation in the euro area, which climbed to 9.9 percent in September, remained "far too high".

"The Governing Council's monetary policy is aimed at reducing support for demand and guarding against the risk of a persistent upward shift in inflation expectations." the statement said.

The ECB added it "expects to raise interest rates further" to ensure "the timely return of inflation to its 2 percent medium-term inflation target."

The central bank also said it "intends to continue reinvesting, in full, the principal payments from maturing securities purchased under its asset purchase program" to ensure ample liquidity.

"The Governing Council will base the future policy rate path on the evolving outlook for inflation and the economy, following its meeting-by-meeting approach." the statement said.