If the European Central Bank stopped announcing changes to interest rates there is a good chance that nobody would notice. Though the ECB raised its main refinancing rate on Thursday, by 25 basis points to 3.75 per cent, all anybody cared about was ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet’s statement. Having signalled the rate rise a month ago, he hinted at another increase, probably this summer.

That is a sensible policy for now. Mr Trichet said that interest rates remain “accommodative” and that the ECB would monitor risks to price stability “very closely”. That suggests another rate rise, though not immediately, which the markets are already pricing in. There remains a decent chance, however, that rates will go even higher this year, to 4.25 or even 4.5 per cent.