The European Central Bank kept eurozone interest rates unchanged at 1% but sharply downgraded its forecasts for the 16-nation bloc. It now expects the eurozone economy to shrink by up to 5.1% this year, with GDP falling by as much as 1% and growing by no more than 0.4%. The ECB also said it would continue with a credit easing plan to buy €60 billion of covered bonds by the end of June next year.

The Times