Uncertainties in euro zone outlook - ECB chief

European Central Bank President Mr Wim Duisenberg said today the outlook for growth in the 12-country euro zone was marked by increasing uncertainty.

"The economic outlook remains subject to uncertainties," Mr Duisenberg told a news conference here held after the bank's regular policy-setting meeting.

Among those uncertainties was the future development of oil prices and "the impact of existing imbalances elsewhere on the world economy".

At the meeting, the ECB held its key "refi" refinancing rate steady at 3.25 per cent, even though the bank believed that the inflation outlook for the single currency had become "less favourable" since the end of last year.

AFP