FRANKFURT, Sept 1: The European Central Bank, meeting for the first time after its month-long summer break on Thursday, held its key interest rates steady as expected but sounded a more hawkish tone on the inflationary dangers linked to the runaway price of oil.

As unanimously predicted by analysts, the European Central Bank left the minimum bid rate for its regular refinancing operations steady at 2.00 per cent, where it has been since June 2003.

And the guardian of the euro also held its other two key rates — the deposit rate and the marginal lending rate — unchanged at 1.00 per cent and 3.00 per cent respectively.

ECB chief Jean-Claude Trichet suggested to a news conference following the bank’s regular policy-setting meeting that no rate changes were likely in the immediate future.

“I am not pre-announcing a rate hike and I am certainly not pre-announcing a rate cut,” the Frenchman said.—AFP