ECB impervious to nation’s woes

THOSE struggling to come to terms with the possibility of a hike in euro interest rates in July need only look at the way the price of oil has shot up in the past 12 months to find the answer.

European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said yesterday the fear of secondary effects from rising oil prices has increased the threat that the dearer cost of fuel will lead to demands for higher wages and increased costs, putting additional pressure on euro inflation in the months ahead.

For those of us here, confronted with half-finished housing estates and towns and villages going into decline, a higher cost of borrowing would be just another dagger to the heart.