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FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - A confidential report by the European Central Bank to the EU economic and financial committee indicates the ECB governing council meeting today will most likely keep its interest rates unchanged, Handelsblatt newspaper said, citing a copy of that report.

The newspaper did not say when the report was drawn up but that the EU committee advises the euro zone finance ministers on some of its decisions.

Handelsblatt said the report shows the ECB is adopting a wait-and-see stance on the impact turbulence in the financial markets might have on the euro area.

The newspaper said the report noted the ECB basically believes that the euro zone financial system is "strong and robust".

But the ECB report noted too that at the present time, it "cannot be ruled out that the financing conditions and even the real economy in the euro area would be affected if difficulties in the short-term credit lending drag on and the longer-term financing is affected in the process."

The report said uncertainties on how the liquidity problems will develop make it difficult to estimate the medium-term prospects for the financial stability, the newspaper said.

Unforeseen troubles in the global credit markets are not be excluded, it added.

marilyn.gerlach@thomson.com

mog/slj

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