By Tom FairlessFRANKFURT--The European Central Bank on Thursday raised interest rates by half a percentage point, pressing ahead with its fight against inflation despite concerns that this could exacerbate strains in the financial system. The ECB said in a statement that it would increase its key rate to 3%, the highest level since 2008, following consecutive half-point rate increases in February and December. Many investors had been betting that the ECB might unveil a smaller, quarter-point rate increase on Thursday after last week's turmoil in the U.S. banking sector spread to Europe. Write to Tom Fairless at tom.fairless@wsj.com

Source: Wall Street Journal March 17, 2023 01:22 UTC