Published by Mark Smith-HalvorsenThe European Central Bank (ECB) will refrain from lowering interest rates despite accelerating inflation in Germany, analysts claimed.Speaking to Bloomberg, Stephan Rieke, an economist at BHF-Bank AG in Frankfurt, said that although inflation increased 1.3 per cent year-on-year in September, this is in line with official expectations.He added that the ECB will not be forced to cut rates further below their current record low of one per cent."Inflation will remain very moderate over the coming quarters. The European Central Bank doesn't have any need to act on interest rates," he said.Mr Rieke said the region has also benefited from the weaker dollar, which has made it cheaper to import dollar-priced commodities such as crude oil.However, markets are likely to watch crude prices carefully, as the fuel is once more selling above $80 a barrel in New York and London after months of tight range trading around $70-75 a barrel.For more information on international payments, visit our Smart FX site.