"There will be worries about the negative effects on the economy. The hike is unwelcome for peripheral countries, but arguably the core member states were in need of this move already some time ago. In that sense, the timing of the increase is a balancing act, which is part and parcel of the one-size-fits-all monetary policy.
"The ECB should signal that risks to inflation remain to the upside, while interest rates are still historically low. This would confirm that this is not a one-off, but the start of policy normalisation."
Marie Diron, senior economic adviser, Ernst & Young Eurozone Forecast
"The ECB is concerned that the commodity-fuelled inflation rates spread to a wider range of goods and services and eventually to wages.
?We think that tightening monetary policy at this point is a mistake. As Mr Stark reminded us recently, the ECB should not set monetary policy for a few specific countries. Its task is to look at the Eurozone as a whole.
"Tighter monetary policy will only add to the burden of reeling peripheral countries and increase the risk of a much worse debt crisis. Portugal asking for a bailout from the EU and IMF illustrates that this crisis is far from over.?
Howard Archer, IHS Global Insight
"It would have been a major shock if the ECB had not acted, given the stream of senior ECB policymakers out in force recently highlighting the case for an interest rate rise now to contain the risk of second round inflationary effects developing from the current spike up in euro zone consumer price inflation resulting from higher energy and commodity prices.
"What is of critical interest now is whether or not the ECB in its statement and Mr. Trichet in his press conference give any clue as to how quickly interest rates are likely to rise going forward."
Daniel Briesemann, commodity analyst, Commerzbank
"This came as expected, it was definitely a non-event. Everything should have already been priced in so there has been no effect on oil prices. I think Trichet's press conference will at least be more interesting than the decision itself."
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