European Central Bank president Mr Wim Duisenberg said ECB interest rates remain consistent with price stability.
"The level of the key ECB interest rates at the current juncture is . . . seen as consistent with maintaining price stability over the medium term," Mr Duisenberg said in his introductory statement to a news conference following the ECB's governing council meeting here.
The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged today, defying expectations it would join the latest round of monetary easing by major central banks aiming to stave off global recession.
In a statement the ECB said it had left its key refinancing rate unchanged at 3.75 per cent.
Mr Duisenberg indicated the ECB sees its exceptional 50-basis point rate cut on September 17th as a sufficient response for the moment.
"For the time being, we thus see a confirmation of our earlier assessment, which led us to reduce the key ECB interest rates by 50 basis points on 17th September," he said.
He said it would be premature to offer a firm assessment of the macroeconomic impact of the attacks on New York and Washington and the US response.
Most economists polled by Reuters news agency last week had predicted a quarter-point cut, citing falling inflation, slowing growth as well as worries about the economic impact of the September 11th attacks on US targets and strikes against Afghanistan.