The European Central Bank held its key interest rates at record lows Thursday, a spokesman said, adding that they would remain unchanged until "well past" the end of the bank's massive bond-buying programme.

As expected, the Frankfurt institution kept its main refinancing rate at 0.0 percent, the rate on the marginal lending facility at 0.25 percent, and on deposits at -0.4 percent, meaning banks pay to park money with the ECB.