Growth and inflation revised up as ECB holds rates

Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank (ECB) announced today that, not only will they be keeping European interest rates on hold, but that the central bank will also be standing ready to increase its asset purchase program (QE) should it need to. QE, which was meant to be tapered towards the end of 2017, could now be extended longer as it is claimed to be showing material benefits to the EU economy. EU GDP forecasts have received a slight increase, up 0.1% to 1.8% for 2017, whilst inflation has also been forecast higher to 1.7% for the year. The news sparked Euro strength and rallied EU equity markets in the immediate aftermath.