FRANKFURT, Germany (AP):

The European Central Bank, which has been pumping extra funds into money markets for two weeks, said yesterday it plans to auction supplementary three-month funds valued at €40 billion (US$53.97 billion) to provide more liquidity to cash-hungry markets.

The move prompted a new debate whether the bank would move forward in raising its benchmark interest rate next month, a decision that will be announced September 6.

The tender is scheduled for today and will not hamper the 13-nation bank's regular call for bids of three-month funds on Tuesday.

The supplementary tender bid is lower than the €50 billion (US$67.46 billion) set for its regular three-month move.

The bank offered no real clues as to whether an increase in its benchmark rate from 4.0 per cent to 4.25 per cent was likely at its meeting in September, but in a statement it said that the "position of the Governing Council of the ECB on its monetary policy stance was expressed by its president on August 2."