The European Central Bank broke the longest streak of interest rate hikes in its 25-year history on Thursday, saying the latest data continued to point to inflation slowly coming down to its 2% target. The central bank for the 20 countries that use the euro left the rate it pays on deposits at a record-high 4.0%, reaffirming that the current level of borrowing costs may just be enough to tame inflation if kept there "sufficiently long". "The Governing Council’s past interest rate increases continue to be transmitted forcefully into financing conditions," the ECB said.