ECB policymakers appear firmly committed to April interest rate hike

EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) policymakers underscored the case for an April rate hike yesterday as Portugal’s political crisis raised the prospect of another spell of reluctant ECB bond market intervention.

The ECB has kept rates at a record low of 1% for almost two years as the financial and debt crises have unfolded, but it took financial markets by surprise earlier this month by flagging an earlier-than-expected hike in April.

This month’s disaster in Japan, Middle East tensions, and most recently signs Portugal’s government will fall, potentially forcing the country into a European bailout, have created some uncertainty in markets about an ECB hike.