ECB governing council member Ernst Welteke says a cut in euro zone interest rates will not necessarily boost depressed household consumption.
Welteke, who is also president of Germany's Bundesbank, told Bloomberg TV he did not think that consumers made spending or savings decisions on the basis of ECB interest rates.
The remarks seem at odds with comments by other top ECB officials, who have recently hinted at a possible reduction in euro zone borrowing costs in order to counter the current economic uncertainty.
In particular, ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said this week that the bank could reassess its monetary policy stance if household consumption did not pick up. Belgian central bank governor Guy Quaden also said the ECB still had 'some ammunition left' in possible interest rate moves.
But Welteke did not close the door altogether on a possible reduction in ECB rates, which have remained steady at 2% since June 2003.
Significantly, he declined to say whether the current level of interest rates was 'appropriate', the ECB's key signal to the markets that no immediate rate changes are upcoming. 'We'll talk about that at our next meeting,' he said. This takes place in a week's time.
Speculation the ECB might be preparing to ease monetary conditions in the euro zone have caused the euro to fall against the dollar this week.
* EU finance ministers have agreed to appoint Spain's Jose Manuel Gonzalez Paramo to succeed his compatriot Eugenio Domingo Solans on the board of the European Central Bank.
The Spaniard was one of three candidates - including Ireland's Michael Tutty - for the post.
