The European Central Bank repeated concern today about inflation pressure in the 13-nation euro zone, a day after saying it would join a coordinated liquidity injection with four other central banks.
A monthly ECB bulletin said its information 'confirmed the existence of strong short-term upward pressure on inflation, with the HICP inflation rate reaching 3% in November.'
Wording of the bulletin, which referred to the harmonised index of consumer prices, an EU standard measure of inflation, matched that of ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet on December 6, when the bank left its key interest rate at 4%.
It was released a day after the ECB said it would take joint action with the US Federal Reserve and central banks in Britain, Canada and Switzerland to inject cash and confidence back into chronically tight euro zone money markets.
The action, the first such widely coordinated move since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks against the US, involved tens of billions of dollars and was aimed at easing the flow of credit on which global economies depend.
The ECB today again raised the spectre of inflation, saying in the bulletin that 'with money and credit growth remaining very vigorous in the euro area, the Governing Council stands ready to counter upside risks to price stability.'
In Belgium, ECB governing council member Guy Quaden said the bank was 'seriously concerned' about inflation.
'The current situation is not satisfactory with regards to the inflation rate and the prospects for the short term too are not satisfactory,' said Quaden, who is also governor of the National Bank of Belgium.
Meanwhile, the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office today show that the annual rate of inflation rose to 5% in November from 4.8% in October, on the back of higher prices for petrol, diesel and a wide range of food products.
