European Central Bank committee member Nagel: Policy options should remain open before the April meeting.

Joachim Nagel, a member of the European Central Bank's executive board, said that signaling the interest rate direction later this month would be a mistake. Nagel told reporters in Washington during the International Monetary Fund's spring meeting that policymakers do not yet have enough information to determine if the surge in energy costs will keep inflation high for a longer period - if this happens, a policy response will be needed. He said officials will make a decision at the meeting in two weeks. "We need to keep our options open," Nagel said. "It is wrong to say now that interest rates will move in a certain direction. I am not yet ready to make a commitment in advance." The next ECB policy meeting is two weeks away. Prior reports suggested that officials are inclined to keep rates unchanged at that time.