Highlights
As expected, the European Central Bank left its key policy interest rate at 4.25 percent. The ECB increased their key rate by 25 basis points at its July meeting. The spread between U.S. and EMU interest rates is now 2.25 percent but there is only 75 basis point spread with the Bank of England. The latest flash reading for the harmonized index of consumer prices showed that inflation eased to 3.8 percent from the record setting 4.1 percent increase in July, the highest rate since statistics began in 1997. But inflation is still almost double the ECB's inflation target of 2 percent. Like the Bank of England the ECB is caught between a rock and a hard place - rising inflationary pressures and a sagging economy. Growth continues to be a worry in the eurozone. GDP was down 0.2 percent in the second quarter with Germany, France and Italy all declining in the quarter. Recent ECB policymakers comments have reinforced expectations that ECB interest rates would remain on hold at least until well into next year. Unlike the US Federal Reserve, which has slashed U.S. borrowing costs, the ECB sees its job as focused on controlling inflation rather than riding to the rescue of economic growth. Eurozone wages and prices are also slower to adjust than in other economies, strengthening the case for a more cautious stance by the ECB.

In contrast with the Bank of England, the ECB makes its decisions by consensus and does not publish minutes after its meetings. Rather, to explain the governing council's thinking, ECB president Jean Claude Trichet holds a press conference about 45 minutes after the meeting's conclusion. At that time, he reads a prepared statement and then responds to questions from the press.

2008 Release Schedule

Released On: 1/10 2/7 3/6 4/10 5/8 6/5 7/3 8/7 9/4 10/2 11/6 12/4