Wary of higher energy and commodity prices, the European Central Bank raised its benchmark interest rate Thursday by a quarter percentage point to 4.25 percent, a move it hopes will help curtail rising inflation in the 15 countries that use the euro.
The move comes despite worries in some quarters that it could dampen growth, but ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said at a press conference that the fundamentals of Europe's economy "are sound" and that the bank was focused on inflation which he said could remain high "for a more protracted period than previously thought."
He did not signal when rates might go up again, as he did at last month's meeting. The increase was the first since June 2007.
Thursday's move was widely expected,...