Brussels, 16/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - While the Euro went under the USD 0.90 mark, the European Commission, showed its serenity, by using a wording aimed at reassuring the markets. The same day, Eurostat announced an increase in inflation to 2.6% in February in the Euro zone (see other story). Thursday, the European Central Bank maintained, as planned, its headline rates to 4.75% thus continuing its austerity policy. It is out of the question for the Board of Governors of the ECB to lower interests rates as long as inflation remains above 2%. Gerassimos Thomas, spokesperson for the Commission responsible for economic and monetary affairs, stated: the European executive does not see anything particular in the present movements of the Euro. There seems to be a technical positioning of the European currency, linked to the publication of significant data in the United States, notably concerning the consumer price index. He noted that the Euro remains stable against the Yen. The rise in strength of the Dollar against the Yen had an impact on the relationship between the American currency and the Euro. The movements recorded today further reflect the lack of confidence towards the Yen compared to the Dollar, he added. According to the analysts, the Euro is suffering from several factors. The first would that confidence in the fundamentals of the American economy have remained unchanged despite the danger of a recession which looms over it. The Dollar remains used as a refuge currency. The second links the difficulties of the European single currency to the lack of capability and speed in reacting of the European political class. Some experts explain the movement by the bad reception given by the stock markets to the ECB decision to maintain its interest rates unchanged.