A number of European Central Bank policymakers support raising interest rates and the Governing Council could move them as soon as its next policy meeting on July 3rd, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said this afternoon.
"We considered that - it is not excluded - that after having carefully examined the situation, we could decide to move our rates (by) a small amount in our next meeting in order to secure the solid anchoring of inflation expectations," he told the ECB's monthly news conference.
"I don't say it's certain. I say it's possible," he added.
Mr Trichet said that at the moment opinion was divided on the Council. "We had a number of us thinking that, all taken into account, all information, analysis of risks, we had a case for increasing rates," he said.
"A number of us considered that there was a case for increasing rates, but later some amongst us considered there was not necessarily that case."
Mr Trichet was speaking after the ECB left interest rates unchanged at 4 per cent for the 12th.