The European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged on Thursday, but financial markets are increasingly betting policymakers will raise borrowing costs again as renewed tensions in the Middle East threaten to push energy prices higher and complicate the fight against inflation.
The ECB voted to leave its main interest rate at 2.25%, a decision that was widely expected by economists and investors after the central bank delivered a quarter-percentage-point increase in June, its first rate hike since 2023.
