ECB leaves rates steady amid uncertainty around Iran-linked inflation pressures in World Economy News 19/03/2026 The European Central Bank has left interest rates unchanged as anticipated on Thursday, but stressed that it is ready to “navigate” any inflationary pressures caused by the war in the Middle East. Interest rates on the ECB’s key deposit facility were kept unaltered at 2.0%, while its main refinancing operations and marginal lending facility were also steady at 2.15% and 2.4%, respectively. In a statement, policymakers warned that the joint U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran has made the outlook “significantly more uncertain,” particularly placing upside risk to inflation and darkening the outlook for wider economic growth. Energy prices, especially for natural gas, have rocketed higher as the conflict has widened to include strikes at facilities in major Persian Gulf producing countries, such as Qatar. Europe is heavily reliant on natural gas which passes through the region, making the region vulnerable to the strikes on production sites and the effective closure of vital shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz. The fighting “will have a material impact on near-term inflation through higher energy prices,” the ECB said, adding “[i]ts medium-term implications will depend both on the intensity and duration of the conflict and on how energy prices affect consumer prices and the economy.” However, the ECB noted that officials are “well positioned to navigate this uncertainty” as they look to keep inflation in the Eurozone currency area anchored at 2%. Source: Investing.com 2026-03-19 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); tweet Share