Trichet President of ECB answers reporter's questions
Trichet President of ECB answers reporter's questions REUTERS

Both the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE) kept their respective benchmark interest rates at their current level, they said Thursday.

The BoE left rates at 0.5 percent, a historic low, as their economies continue to struggle. The bank is expected to keep interest rates low for the next few months, assuming that inflation will continue to drop, as it did in June.

England's GDP increased by only 0.2 percent in the second quarter of 2011, according to CNBC, leaving many to predict that the current interest rate will remain unchanged for the rest of the year.

Meanwhile, the ECB kept its key interest rate at 1.50 percent, after two increases since April.

Debt crises in countries like Greece, Italy and Spain have weakened the Euro recently, yet the inflation rate has slowly decreased between June and July from 2.7 percent to 2.5 percent, a sign that some of the pressure is receding.

The ECB has targeted an annual inflation rate of "below but close" to 2 percent as the ideal mark.

ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet will take questions on the policy on Thursday afternoon from Frankfurt.

Some economists think that Trichet will raise rates again in October, according to the Associated Press, but the increase could be delayed for as long as three months if the bank decides it would put too much pressure on indebted Eurozone nations.