The European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged, while rising French bond yields eased the urgency for a rate hike.

The European Central Bank (ECB) decided on Thursday to keep its key deposit rate unchanged at 2.5%, a decision in line with market expectations. In September, the ECB had raised the rate by 0.25%. Despite rising energy costs pushing up inflation, the yield on French 10-year government bonds broke through 5% last week for the first time in over 20 years. Rising yields increased borrowing costs and dampened demand. Henry Cook, an economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, stated that policymakers' sense of urgency to take immediate action has diminished following the rise in sovereign bond yields. (Source: Jinshi Data)