Brussels, 28/08/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Monday a spokesperson for the president of the European Central Bank (ECB) stated, “We will be assessing all the elements of the economy…we will be evaluating the risks and take appropriate measures”. The bank will be meeting on 6 September and will be giving a statement afterwards. Although the language employed at the last meeting of the board of governors at the beginning of August emphasised the “high level of vigilance” and left no doubt about a hike in interest rates in September, this now appears less likely. In a speech to the Hungarian Academy of Science in Budapest, Jean-Claude Trichet left all the different options open for next week's meeting. He indicated that, “what I said on the second of August was before the market turbulence”. In an effort to prepare the markets for a monetary status quo, he provided a customary assurance that the ECB “is not precommitted”.
The president of the ECB will go to the economic and monetary affairs committee of the EP on 11 September for an exchange with MEPs on the collapse of the US subprime mortgage market. (ab)