The European Central Bank on Thursday offered few surprises, keeping interest rates unchanged and leaving the size of its asset purchase programs unchanged. The ECB said it expected to continue to purchase assets under its pandemic emergency purchase program at a "signficantly higher" pace than seen in the early months of this year. Analysts had been divided on whether the ECB would stick to the increased pace of purchases undertaken this quarter. ECB President Christine Lagarde will hold a news conference at 2:30 p.m. Frankfurt time, or 8:30 a.m. Eastern.