By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Olaf Sleijpen said in a podcast aired Saturday that the amount of new data available by the ECB’s April 30 policy meeting would be limited.

Sleijpen, who heads De Nederlandsche Bank, said in the College Leaders in Finance podcast that rates would “either stay the same, or go up — I think that will be the discussion.”

“There will be new data then, but that is limited,” he added.

“In a few weeks we’ll be sitting together there in Frankfurt with the Executive Board,” he said. “Then we’ll have to see what we’re going to do now.”

Sleijpen also stressed the uncertainty surrounding the outlook.

Referring to recent comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on coming developments, he said the words “I honestly don’t know” also applied to the ECB.

“You make that decision with the data you have at that time,” he said.

He added that “there is quite a bit more to add compared to what we have now,” while also emphasizing the importance of discussion inside the Governing Council.

“There also is the conversation, the dialogue: because you talk about this with a number of people, and through talking, you do arrive at a better decision,” he said. “That is the power of the consultation.”