European Central Bank council members met today as fresh proof of inflation in the euro zone reinforced expectations that they will resist pressure to cut interest rates.
They have spent the last two weeks deflating speculation about an early cut and fending off pressure from politicians, trade unions, business and think tanks for a reduction to support euro zone growth.
The ECB is scheduled to announce its decision at noon and no news conference is planned. It has kept its key interest rate unchanged at 4.75 per cent since October.
German producer price inflation accelerated to a 19-year high of 4.9 per cent in March from 4.7 per cent in February, according to data released today, backing the ECB's case that risks to price stability - its primary focus - had not disappeared.
Producer prices are a leading indicator for consumer price inflation because they track the price of goods as they leave the factory gates.
The ECB can claim success in silencing many of its critics, at least in the euro zone, by repeating its mantra that growth is robust, price risks are looming and that calls for lower interest rates are hurting the outlook for regional growth as well as the ECB's own credibility.
Today's most likely decision - to keep rates unchanged- follows news yesterday of a fresh series of lowered growth forecasts from the IMF and the European Commission for the world's main economies.
It will leave the ECB as the only major central bank to have refrained from rate cuts this year following a collapse in US growth.
But ECB council member Mr Ernst Welteke was at pains yesterday to stress that the ECB could not boost growth through interest rate cuts and did not have a mandate to do so.