Celebrating its 10th birthday this month, the European Central Bank has stressed the uniqueness of Europe’s monetary union, which now includes 15 countries. But recently there has been a retro feel to its comments and actions.

As oil prices – and eurozone inflation – have soared, Jean-Claude Trichet, ECB president, has warned about repeating the mistakes of the 1970s and prepared financial markets for a quarter percentage point rise to 4.25 per cent in official eurozone borrowing costs next week.