Brussels, 26/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - The Board of Governors of the European Central Bank (ECB) decided on Thursday, without much surprise, to maintain key interest rates unchanged. The ECB intends to stand firm against the external pressures in favour of a fall in interest rates. One of the main reasons for its monetary rigour is the persistence of inflationary trends in the European Union (see EUROPE of 26 April, p.5). The minimum bid rate applied to the main refinancing operations remains unchanged at 4.75%, while the interest rates on marginal lending facility and deposit facility remain unchanged at 5.75% and 3.75% respectively.
The pressure should once more be felt by the ECB President, Wim Duisenberg, during the spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the G-7 Finance meeting this weekend in Washington.
The British Liberal Democrat Chris Huhne member of the European Parliament defended the European Central Bank against those who place pressure for it to reduce its interest rates. "Given that inflation is still above the 2% ceiling (…) and that the Euro zone is probable operating at full capacity, there are no ground for criticising the ECB for its decision. So far, it has been getting its interest rates decisions right", felt the European parliamentarian. "Critics also forget that Euro-zone interest rates are only a quart percentage point higher than United States interest rates even though the outlook for the Euro-area economy this year is much better", he added, while also recalling that exports from the Euro zone towards the United States only account for 2% of Union GDP.