ECB chief economist plays down chances of January rate cut

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FRANKFURT, Dec 11 (AFP): The European Central Bank's chief economist downplayed the likelihood of an interest rate cut in January, saying that after three straight reductions, the ECB's room for manoeuvre is now very limited.
"Following the substantial rate decreases, the remaining room for manoeuvre is very limited and only allows for potentially small gestures," Germany's Juergen Stark said in a speech late Wednesday in southwestern Tuebingen.
His comments will likely cool markets that have been expecting lending rates to be lowered again by 0.50 percentage points in mid-January.