The European Central Bank Wednesday noted that its president had expressed the Governing Council's monetary policy stance on Aug. 2. An ECB official declined comment on whether the statement meant there had been no change in the ECB's policy stance since then. On Aug. 2, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said the council had adopted a position of "strong vigilance" on price risks. The word "vigilance" has been used to herald all eight of the ECB's interest rate hikes since the bank started tightening monetary policy in December 2005.