European Central Bank keeps rate at 0.05% November 7, 2014 - 8:06AM The European Central Bank has kept its main interest rate unchanged at a record low of 0.05 per cent. Thursday's decision was expected, mostly because the ECB has said it has already lowered the benchmark refinancing rate about as low as it can go. Markets are waiting for ECB President Mario Draghi's news conference for hints about whether the bank will ramp up its stimulus measures. The ECB has slashed interest rates, offered cheap loans to banks, and started purchasing bonds based on bank loans. All those steps are aimed at increasing the flow of credit to companies. The ECB has stopped short of large-scale bond purchases to pump newly created money into the economy, as the US Federal Reserve has done.