The European Central Bank (ECB) left key interest rates unchanged at a historic low of minus 0.5 percent on Thursday, as Christine Lagarde chaired her first monetary policy meeting. 

In a closely watched press conference afterwards, Lagarde, who took over as president of the central bank at the beginning of November, said data pointed to continued subdued inflation pressures and weak euro area growth, but there were some early signs of stabilization.

The rates announcement was as expected. But the spotlight was on what Lagarde said afterwards, with investors trying to gauge her approach to policy. The new ECB head said she knew there would be comparisons but that she was "going to be myself" while at the helm.

Rather than wanting to be categorized as a "hawk" or "dove," referring to the approach one takes to policy, she said she would prefer to be thought of as "an owl." The ECB has an inflation target of "below, but close to 2 percent."

But despite injecting cheap money into the economy, inflation has fallen well short of its target. The ECB therefore plans to keep interest rates low in a bid to increase borrowing and stimulate growth in the euro area's sluggish economy – ultimately leading to a rise in inflation.

Lagarde had already promised a review of the ECB strategy, which will be the first of its kind since 2003. This is expected to start in January and it will be completed by the end of 2020. 

As well as tackling the central bank's inflation target, Lagarde said the review will look at issues such as technology, climate change, and wealth inequality.