ECB Likely to Hold Key Rate Steady

FRANKFURT, Germany - The European Central Bank is likely to keep interest rates unchanged Thursday as unemployment is dropping and inflation appears to be under control in the 13-nation region that shares the euro.

The Bank of England, meanwhile, raised its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 5.75 percent, its fifth increase in less than a year as the central bank tries to contain inflation and a booming housing market.

The European Central Bank has raised rates about once every quarter since December 2005 in bringing its benchmark rate to 4 percent. In doing so it has managed to keep inflation at bay and growth from stalling.

"It is a stone-dead …