The European Central Bank is expected on Thursday to decide against announcing any new action to help boost the struggling euro zone’s economic fortunes as it sizes up the impact of sweeping measures it unveiled four weeks ago.

Analysts said bank chief Mario Draghi could use his regular monthly press conference instead to unveil further details on the implementation of the complex battery of steps the bank set out in June.

Draghi is also expected to reaffirm that interest rates will be on hold for a lengthy period of time after the bank cut its benchmark refinancing rate to a record low of 0.15 per cent and reduced its deposit rate to minus 0.1 per cent last month.

However, since the bank’s June meeting, a steady stream of key economic indicators has underlined the fragile state of the 18-member euro zone’s economy.

As a result, Draghi is also likely to be pressed by reporters on what additional steps the bank could take to shore up growth in the euro zone and to head off the threat of deflation choking off the region’s recovery from recession.

This could include following the example of other major central banks by pumping more liquidity into the euro zone through the large-scale purchasing of government bonds under a so-called quantitative easing programme.

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