ECB kicks off rate-hiking cycle with a 50-bp increase

FRANKFURT - The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday raised key interest rates by 50 basis points, the first increase since 2011, in an effort to normalize its monetary policies.

The interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility, the three key ECB interest rates, will be increased to 0.50 percent, 0.75 percent and 0.00 percent respectively, with effect from July 27, 2022, said an ECB statement after a governing council meeting here.

The decision to raise interest rates by 50 basis points, bigger than expected, came as a surprise since the central bank flagged in June a 25-basis point increase in July as part of its forward guidance.

After the rate hike, the deposit interest rate will exit the negative territory for the first time since June 2014, which, according to the ECB, allows it to "make a transition to a meeting-by-meeting approach to interest rate decisions."

The ECB rate hike came at a time when the euro area is gripped by roaring inflation.