According to a senior member of the European Central Bank (ECB), the bank may raise interest rates at its next meeting, which is currently scheduled for June. As you may recall, there was a frenzy of speculation that surrounded the Bank’s last meeting, as many analysts had expected a rate hike. According to the official, however, the ECB merely wants to wait and confirm that actual growth and inflation figures accord with expectations. In short, it seems the ECB is in the process of tightening its monetary policy, but the pace may be a little slower than usual. Bloomberg News reports:

With the Federal Reserve also tightening credit and the Bank of Japan likely to do so before the end of 2006, the world economy faces the first round of synchronized rate increases in six years.

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