Frankfurt, Sep 10 (TIWN) The European Central Bank (ECB) decided to leave its key interest rates unchanged and set a "moderately lower pace" for the Covid-19 pandemic-related bond buying.

“Based on a joint assessment of financing conditions and the inflation outlook, the Governing Council judges that favourable financing conditions can be maintained with a moderately lower pace of net asset purchases under the pandemic emergency purchase program (PPEP) than in the previous two quarters,” the ECB said in a statement on Thursday.  Earlier this year, after its March and June meetings, the ECB decided that purchases under the PEPP in the second and third quarters would be conducted at a significantly higher pace than during the first months of the year, reports Xinhua news agency.