The European Central Bank and Bank of England held fire today, keeping key interest rates at 1.0 percent and 0.50 percent respectively after US officials unveiled a fresh round of monetary stimulus.

With the ECB looking to unwind exceptional stimulus measures, the Fed's second round of so-called Quantitative Easing suggests it and the ECB have come to a fork in the road to recovery.

In London, the Bank of England decided against the need for fresh stimulus measures, while the Bank of Japan is scheduled to unveil its own rate decision around midday tomorrow in Tokyo.

So-called QE2, as the Fed's move is described, will involve the US bank resuming massive stimulus spending not seen since the depths of the 2007-09 economic crisis.

The Fed plans to purchase long-term US bonds -- essentially printing money in the process -- to boost economic growth that has failed to curb unemployment.

In Frankfurt meanwhile, the ECB is trying to slowly wean dependent eurozone banks off unlimited supplies of central bank cash, while keeping a wary eye on markets that have begun to raise pressure on weaker eurozone countries again.

"Trichet will be questioned about differences in monetary policy stance between the two sides of the Atlantic," Ernst & Young senior economist Marie Diron forecast.

RBS economist Nick Matthews was looking for a reaffirmation that Trichet "considers it important that US authorities have confirmed their strong dollar position vis-a-vis other major floating currencies."

With Fed officials climbing on board QE2, the euro has climbed to more than 1.42 dollars -- a level not seen since January.

The future of a disputed ECB programme to buy government debt is another question because although that unorthodox measure may have come nearly to a halt for now, financial market pressure on some countries has resurfaced.

Governing council members disagree on whether to continue pushing towards an exit from from unconventional measures, and "in our view, discussions could become even more heated" on Thursday, Commerzbank economist Michael Schubert said.

Greece, Ireland and Portugal could still have to turn to a European Union rescue package for help, especially if the Fed's monetary easing pushes the euro higher and begins to curb eurozone exports.