ECB likely to hold off rate rise

EUROPEAN Central Bank President Jean- Claude Trichet dashed investors’ expectations for an increase in interest rates next month, sending the euro to its biggest decline in two weeks.

“The present high probability which is given for an increase of rates in our next meeting does not correspond to the present sentiment of the governing council,” Mr Trichet said at a press conference in Frankfurt, after the ECB kept its benchmark rate at 2.5%.

At same time, interest rates are still “very low’ and inflation risks “on the upside.”