FRANKFURT (MktNews) - The European Central Bank's (ECB) monthly bulletin for January retains the hawkish tone of the December report, stressing that inflation risks continue to require vigilance and that the ECB is "firm" in its determination to ensure medium-term price stability. "Over the medium term, there are still elements of upward risks to price stability which warrant close monitoring," the ECB said in the "Editorial" to its latest report. In particular, it pointed in that regard to potential inflation risks from wage and fiscal policy. The report repeats previous ECB arguments that euro-area growth remains relatively robust, despite a slight deceleration in activity as a result of last year's oil price shock. It conceded, however, that the global economy faces "increasing uncertainty" due to the U.S. slowdown. Overall, the brevity of the ECB's comments on monetary and economic developments -- as compared to previous monthly reports -- and their tenor suggest that interest rates may be on hold for some time as the ECB analyzes new data and gauges the implications for price stability. The report contains no indication that the ECB could be leaning to a rate cut in the near term, as some market players have speculated. But neither does a pronounced tightening bias emerge from between the lines. The ECB also makes no forward-looking comments on the euro's exchange rate, and it doesn't offer an evaluation of the currency's recent appreciation against the dollar other than to say that it has been "significant" since the end of November. Turning to the euro-area economy's performance, the ECB said that while growth has slowed, the deceleration has been moderate. "Recent information on economic activity in the euro area points to a picture of continuing robust, albeit slightly lower, growth rates," it said. "Data up to October 2000 indicate that euro-area industrial production growth may have seen a peak in the second quarter of the year and moderated slightly thereafter." According to the ECB, this assessment is confirmed by recent business survey data, while "positive" developments in the labor market have contributed to a "stabilization of consumer confidence at high levels" since a decline in September. "Somewhat lower growth can be expected for the last quarter of 2000," it said, attributing the "slight slowdown" in the course of last year largely to higher oil prices. However, "the overall impact of this on the euro-area economy is expected to remain relatively moderate." U.S. SLOWDOWN INCREASES GLOBAL RISKS, BUT EMU RELATIVELY LITTLE AFFECTED Looking at global developments, the ECB said "there is increasing uncertainty surrounding the economic growth performance in the United States, which may also have implications for the economic performance of other areas of the world." In Japan, recent developments "have also been less favorable than anticipated some months ago," the report said. "Developments in financial markets reflect this general outlook for sustained growth in the euro area in a global environment of heightened uncertainty," the ECB argued. Bond yields, it said, suggest that markets expect euro-area economic growth "to remain strong in both relative and absolute terms." They also show that markets' "slight" downward revisions to their growth expectations "were concentrated on the shorter term," the report said.