The ECB Governing Council unanimously decided to keep the main interest rate unchanged at 0.75% at their October monetary policy meeting. Speaking at the press conference following the meeting ECB head Mario Draghi commented on the considerations underlying the decision. The president suggested that inflation should stay above 2% throughout the rest of 2012 and fall below 2% in the course of of 2013, assuring that the current inflationary pressures were temporary He said that economic growth would remain weak and recover very gradually, as tensions on financial markets weigh on sentiment. Mario Draghi affirmed that that the ECB was acting independently and strictly within mandate and stressed that the euro was irreversible. He assured that the OMT program, which has helped alleviate tensions on financial markets in the past few weeks, was ready to be activated whenever necessary. He urged EU officials however to “continue to implement the necessary steps to reduce both fiscal and structural imbalances and proceed with financial sector restructuring measures.”