Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, appeared flustered after last week's meeting of the bank's governing board. Mr Trichet, in the job for more than a year, may have been tired having recently returned from a seminar in Rio de Janeiro. But the increasing gloom about the outlook for the eurozone economy - where he has responsibility for monetary policy - may also have weighed on his mind.

After a relatively strong first six months this year, growth in the 12-country eurozone has slowed sharply. Gross domestic product rose by just 0.3 per cent in the three months to September compared with the previous three months, as export growth slowed and household spending remained flat. The ECB has backed away from its earlier forecast of an acceleration in activity at the start of next year and on Thursday revised downwards its forecast for 2005, blaming the impact of higher oil prices on growth. Private sector economists have followed its example, reducing projections for growth in coming quarters - and adding the strength of the euro against the dollar to the list of the eurozone's economic woes.