Cuts in British and French interest rates announced yesterday are not expected to have any immediate impact on rates here, according to Irish economists. The timing of the next move in Irish rates is still expected to depend on movements in German rates, they say.

Irish money market rates eased slightly yesterday to around 5.4 per cent, in line with European rates. The pound was unchanged at just over 103.5p sterling.

The Bundesbank is expected to delay the process of easing German rates to have the maximum impact on the deutschmark, which is seen as uncompetitively strong.