ECB issues unprecedented forward guidance Mario Draghi, ECB President, denied that the decision to introduce forward guidance, which he stressed had been taken unanimously by the governing council, had been influenced by the Fed's comments. But he did make reference to the effects of those comments, namely rising interest rates on government bonds. "We are not reacting to other central bank's monetary policy decisions," he said. We want to clarify what assessment for medium-term outlook for inflation is and what our reactions are. Mr Draghi did not elaborate on what he meant by an "extended period," though he did say that an exit from the ECB's loose policy is "very distant." Neither would he be drawn on which economic indicators would influence the ECB's future decisions. Instead he said the guidance was based on the "overall subdued outlook for inflation," "broad based weakness in the real economy" and "subdued monetary dynamics." Mr Draghi did concede, however, that while the governing council settled on leaving policy unchanged in July, some members called for rates to be cut to fresh record lows this month. The ECB kept its rates for refinancing, emergency borrowing and depositing cash in the bank at 0.5pc, 1pc and 0pc respectively. This unmoving stance had been widely anticipated by economists after recent data signalled that the long-running recession in the bloc is steadying. A closely watched index of private sector activity in the eurozone rose in June to show that while business is still falling, the pace of slowdown has eased.