The European Central Bank has decided to leave its key interest rate unchanged at 4% after its Governing Council meeting in Frankfurt this morning.
The council had signalled that an increase of 0.25% was very likely after it met last month.
However, continued unprecedented turmoil in the international money markets, which was kicked off by concerns over mortgage defaults in the US, has caused the bank to reassess the situation.
Economists believe that the ECB decision represents a decision to postpone the rate increase and that it is likely to increase interest rates in the coming months after the money markets settle down.
