The European Central Bank held a monetary policy meeting on the 2nd and decided to raise the three key interest rates in the euro area by 50 basis points. It is expected that the interest rate will be further raised thereafter to ensure that the inflation rate falls back to the medium-term target level of 2% in time. In the monetary policy decision released on the same day, the European Central Bank said that from February 8, the main refinancing rate, marginal lending rate and deposit mechanism rate would be raised to 3.00%, 3.25% and 2.50% respectively. The European Central Bank said that in order to cope with inflation, the European Central Bank planned to raise interest rates by another 50 basis points at the next monetary policy meeting. The European Central Bank reiterated that from the beginning of March to the end of June 2023, the average monthly reduction of the conventional asset purchase plan will reach 15 billion euros, and the pace of balance sheet reduction will depend on the situation thereafter. (Xinhua News Agency)