The European Central Bank on Thursday held interest rates at historic lows and left its vast pandemic stimulus in place, despite a strengthening economic recovery. The Frankfurt institution kept the rate on its main refinancing operations at zero, its marginal lending facility at 0.25 percent and its bank deposit rate at negative 0.5 percent, it said in a statement. Governors also did not tweak their 1.85 trillion euro ($2.2 trillion) pandemic emergency bond-buying scheme. mfp/hmn/lth