LONDON, Nov 8 - The European Central Bank holds its regular policymaking meeting on Thursday and its interest rate decision is expected at 1145 GMT. A news conference is scheduled for 1330 GMT.
The central bank left its benchmark rate unchanged at 3.75 percent after its last meeting on October 25. It last cut rates by 50 basis points on September 17, its third easing of monetary policy this year and in between regular meetings in direct response to the September 11 attacks on the United States.
European Central Bank council members have recently pointed to declining inflation in the euro zone and said this would be taken into account when deciding the level of interest rates.
A poll of 22 analysts on Wednesday put the odds of a cut on Thursday at 80 percent, compared with 70 percent in last week's bigger poll. The majority of economists expected a quarter-point cut.
EURO MOVES TO DATE
** The euro closed around $0.8976 on Wednesday compared with $0.8922 on the day of the last meeting and $0.9242 on the day of the last cut.
** The euro fell to record lows near $0.8225 on October 26, 2000, down 30 percent from levels at which it began trading after its January 1999 launch. It is now about 8.3 percent above its all-time low.
** The euro closed around 108.60 yen on Wednesday compared to roughly 109.84 at the time of the last meeting, and is about 22 percent higher than its record low below 89 yen set on October 26 2000.
** The euro is trading around 1.4690 Swiss francs, nearly two percent above an all-time low around 1.4391 francs set on September 21 this year.
** Against sterling, the euro fetched roughly 61.25 pence, almost two pence weaker than the level seen after September's cut.
LATEST COMMENTS BY ECB POLICYMAKERS:
BUNDESBANK PRESIDENT ERNST WELTEKE - NOV 7
Welteke said he was cautiously optimistic that euro zone growth would recover in the medium term even though the global economy was in a phase of pronounced weakness and uncertainty.
"Sentiment is worse than the conditions, and that's not only because of the terror attacks. Expectations are more volatile than real economic developments," he told a conference.
"But expectations don't have to come true. Things may go differently."
He said financing conditions had not improved by as much as could be expected because markets had grown more risk averse.
"That's also a reason why the effect of this year's rate cuts is still to be seen."
"There are reasons for optimistic expectations for the medium term. The German and the European economies have become more competitive internationally over the last years."
AUSTRIAN CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR KLAUS LIEBSCHER - NOV 6
Liebscher said he was confident the currently weak global economy would grow soundly next year.
"Following a temporary slowdown, the world economy will revert to sound growth in the course of 2002," Liebscher said.
"The latest forecasts indicate that euro area inflation will drop to below two percent in the first half of 2002."
ECB PRESIDENT WIM DUISENBERG - NOV 5
Duisenberg said the ECB expects inflation to fall well below the 2.0 percent level early next year.
"Our most recent assessment is that inflation is falling to levels well below the two percent limit," he told reporters.
Asked when, he said: "It will be early next year but then it will be well below and then it will stay there."
"I am sure that the (ECB) governing council will take all the factors leading to this phenomenon well into account."
BUNDESBANK PRESIDENT ERNST WELTEKE - NOV 3
Welteke said interest rates in Germany "are very low on a historical basis considered in real terms."
Welteke said the ECB had already significantly cut rates and one had to now wait for their effect on prices.
"We're keeping with the data. We decide independently of...what politics should hold as right or wrong."
"If no danger for price stability threatens" then the ECB's monetary policy can follow "other goals", Welteke said, adding that he was "cautiously optimistic" about economic developments in 2002 and that economic fundamentals in both the United States and Germany were "extensively in order".
WELTEKE - NOV 2
Welteke said both long-term and real interest rates were already low and ECB rate cuts of 100 basis points so far this year had yet to work their way through the economy.
"We must avoid long-term inflationary expectations building up because of liquidity supply possibly becoming too great through further rate cuts...We have to take care that we don't prepare the next speculative bubble."
BANK OF GREECE GOVERNOR LUCAS PAPADEMOS - NOV 1
Papademos said external pressure on the ECB over interest rates could complicate decisions and it was not only focused on inflation, but also on other economic factors such as growth.
"Price stability is the primary object, but not the only one," he told in an interview.