European Central Bank (ECB) board member, Mr Eugenio Domingo Solans said yesterday it was not necessary for interest rates of the 11 founding euro members to fully converge by the end of the year. He reiterated the Euro's starting rate would be set from January 1999 at a uniform level for the whole area, although the actual level had not yet been decided.

"It's not necessary that we end the year at the same level of interest rates," Mr Domingo Solans told a financial seminar. "From January 1st, 1999, the European Central Bank will set a common interest rate for the entire area. Whether (rates) will have aligned themselves previously is something that I am not sure about," Mr Domingo Solans said.