Brussels, 06/05/2010 (Agence Europe) - The European Central Bank has decided to keep euro area interest rates unchanged. The rates of the main refinancing operations will remain at 1% and the marginal lending facility and deposit facility rates will remain at 1.75% and 0.25% respectively. “Current rates remain appropriate,” said ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet after the meeting of the Governing Council in Lisbon on Thursday 6 May. He said that price developments were expected to remain “moderate” in the euro area, with global inflationary pressures still being compensated by low domestic price pressures.
With recover expected to continue at a “moderate pace” in an uncertain context, the ECB called on governments to take “decisive action” to consolidate their public finances. Correction of budgetary imbalances would require “a stepping up of current effort”, Trichet said. The budgetary problems being faced by Portugal were not comparable to those faced by Greece, he said, repeating that any default by Greece would be out of the question. Trichet ruled out for the moment the idea that the ECB could buy up state bonds to help Athens, telling press that it had not even been discussed. While supporting greater competition among rating agencies, Trichet made no comment on setting up a European agency. (A.B./transl.rt)