The European Central Bank moved to damp down market expectations of a flurry of interest rate rises in the coming months by signalling on Wednesday that a planned rise in eurozone rates next month was likely to be a one-off.

Comments by ECB governing council members sought to correct financial markets’ impression that July’s expected hike would mark the resumption of a monetary policy tightening cycle – an expectation that has depressed bonds and the dollar while possibly helping to inflate oil prices.