Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – The European Central Bank kept its key policy interest rate steady at 1.0 percent Thursday, a move that was widely expected.

The cost of three-month Euro loans between banks fell to another record this week – the latest drop since last week’s Euro 442 billion 12-month money auction from the European Central Bank.

The cost of three-month loans in Euros known as the European Interbank Offered Rate or Euribor fell over 0.02 of a percentage point to 1.07 percent, according to reports.  

The rate has been falling for the last week, when the ECB flooded banks with cash at the benchmark rate of 1 percent in the hope they will start lending more normally again. Before the auction, the three-month rate stood at 1.20 percent

BBN/SS/SI/AD-03July09-4:30 pm (BST)