ECB raises rates by unprecedented 75 bps to tame runaway inflation

The ECB lifted its deposit rate to 0.75% from zero and raised the main refinancing rate to 1.25%, their highest level since 2011

The European Central Bank made its largest-ever interest rate increase Thursday, following the US Federal Reserve and other central banks in a global stampede of rapid rate hikes meant to snuff out record inflation that is squeezing consumers and pushing Europe toward recession.

The bank's 25-member governing council raised its key benchmarks by an unprecedented three-quarters of a percentage point for the 19 countries that use the euro currency. The ECB usually moves rates by a quarter-point and had never raised its key bank lending rate by three-quarters of a point since the euro's launch in 1999.

Bank President Christine