FRANKFURT, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday left the three key interest rates unchanged.

The interest rates on the deposit facility, the main refinancing operations and the marginal lending facility stay at two percent, 2.15 percent and 2.4 percent respectively.

The ECB noted in a press release that the war in the Middle East is driving up inflation and weighing on economic sentiment. "The Governing Council remains well positioned to navigate the current uncertainty."

While near-time inflation expectations have increased significantly, "longer-term inflation expectations remain well anchored."

Driven by surging energy prices caused by the war in the Middle East, inflation in the euro area soared to three percent in April from 2.6 percent in March, well above ECB's target of two percent.

The ECB expects inflation to stay well above two percent in the near term.

"The longer the war continues and the longer energy prices remain high, the stronger is the likely impact on broader inflation and the economy," said ECB President Christine Lagarde at the press conference after the bank's monetary policy meeting.

European consumers currently expect inflation to be considerably higher than two percent in the next 12 months, the results of an ECB survey published on Wednesday showed. They expect inflation to be four percent, significantly than 2.5 percent in February.

While the euro area economy showed signs of momentum at the start of the war, the ECB noted that the downside risks to growth have intensified. The real GDP in the euro area grew by 0.1 percent in the first quarter.

Citing the "weaker-than-expected GDP growth", surging inflation and tighter credit standards, Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro for ING Research, pointed out in a note on Thursday that stagflation pressures are increasing. ■