8 August 2001, 13:05  Issing says ECB rates appropriate, and not only for the moment

FRANKFURT (AFX) - Euro-zone interest rates are appropriate and not merely for the time being, European Central Bank chief economist Otmar Issing said. In an interview with Boersen-Zeitung, Issing said the ECB's view in recent weeks that the interest rate level is appropriate "is not valid only for that moment". "It's because the conditions in general do not change rapidly in such a way that at the next moment another monetary policy would then be appropriate," he added. Issing said the ECB would act if its analysis shows any changes in the risks - either upward or downward - for price stability. The ECB, which is to hold its next meeting on interest rates in the 12-country euro zone on August 30, has held the main refinancing rate at 4.50 percent since May 10. Many analysts expect the ECB to reduce the key rate in the autumn because the euro-zone economy is slowing down.

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