There were no surprises from the European Central Bank on interest rates as it waits for earlier stimulus measures to take effect.<br /><br />It had cut borrowing costs to record lows in June, became the first major central bank to charge commercial banks for holding their deposits overnight and announced a new programme of ultra-cheap loans to be launched in September.<br /><br />One focus of ECB President Mario Draghi and the other policy makers was the emerging risks to the eurozone’s recovery from the conflict in Ukraine.<br /><br />Heightened tensions between Russia and Western countries have already hit business confidence in the region.<br /><br />Also under discussion was the fact that Italy, the bloc’s third largest economy, just slipped back into recession.
