Interest rates in the euro zone remain "appropriate" but strong vigilance to upside risks to price stability is needed because of oil prices, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said Thursday. Speaking to reporters at a press conference after the ECB's governing council meeting in Athens, Trichet said "despite renewed upward pressure on prices stemming mainly from oil market development, we have decided that monetary policy stance remains appropriate." He said "oil prices have pushed up headline inflation rates" to well above 2% and CPI will remain elevated in the short term. "There is no indication that oil prices will moderate significantly in the near future," Trichet said. Earlier Thursday, the ECB left interest rates unchanged, as widely expected. The ECB's key interest rate on its weekly main refinancing operations with commercial banks remains at 2.00%. The last change in ECB interest rates was June 5, 2003, when the central bank lowered all key interest rates 50 basis points.