ECB hikes interest rates by 0.5% in its first rise in 11 years

ECB President Christine Lagarde

(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

The European Central Bank has raised its main interest rates by a higher than expected half point piling more pressure on the Bank of England to follow suit next month.

The hike from zero to 0.5 per cent on its main refinancing rate was the first for 11 years and the biggest since 2000 from the central bank for the Eurozone, which has Christine Lagarde as its President.