0538 GMT - The European Central Bank is moving to recalibrate rates preemptively in the absence of a solution to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Neuberger's Patrick Barbe says in a note. A rate hike on Thursday is justified by energy prices having reached levels embedded in the ECB's adverse scenario, the senior portfolio manager says. The ECB's view is that prolonged high energy prices make a certain degree of indirect inflation diffusion inevitable. For the time being, core inflation has stabilized in the wake of service inflation showing weak activity and high interest rates weighing on consumption and real estate, he adds. Money markets are pricing in a 95% probability of a 25-basis-point rate hike by the ECB, according to LSEG data.