FRANKFURT - The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday decided to keep the key interest rates for the euro area unchanged.

At the ECB governing council meeting, it was decided that the Eurozone base interest rate will remain at 0.00 percent, with the marginal lending rate and deposit rate remaining at 0.25 percent and minus 0.40 percent respectively.

Regarding non-standard monetary policy measures, the ECB reaffirmed the decision made at the last governing council meeting, that it will continue to make net asset purchases at a monthly pace of 30 billion euro from January 2018 until the end of September 2018, or beyond, if necessary.

At a press conference, ECB President Mario Draghi admitted some moderation of the Eurozone economy.

"This moderation may in part reflect a pull-back from the high pace of growth observed at the end of last year, while temporary factors may also be at work," he said.

Draghi stressed that overall growth is expected to remain solid and broad based, and ample liquidity is necessary to bring the inflation back to 2 percent target.

He also stated that risks related to global factors, including the threat of increased protectionism, have become more prominent.