ECB ready to buy bonds amid weak recovery and Ukraine risk

The European Central Bank left monetary policy unchanged at its meeting on Thursday.

However, ECB president Mario Draghi said after the meeting that the euro area's economic recovery was "weak, fragile and uneven", and that the central bank was ready to print money and buy bonds if the region slides towards deflation.

Indeed, a report on Thursday showed that the euro area's biggest economy, Germany, saw its industrial production rise just 0.3 percent in June after having fallen 1.7 percent in May.

Draghi also warned that the conflict in Ukraine poses a serious risk to the region's economy.

The Bank of England also left monetary policy unchanged at its policy meeting on Thursday.