Europe Central Bank / Interest rates to stay low to help growth and job

Interest rates will stay low to support economies and jobs, European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny told a newspaper, dismissing complaints that low rates were hurting savers.

“Given the economic situation, the level of interest rates will remain low because it is in the overall economic interests to have this support for growth and employment,” he told the Oesterreich newspaper in an interview posted on its website on Wednesday.

He recalled there had been periods in the 1970s when negative real interest rates had prevailed. “In certain phases of the economic cycle this is unavoidable. Each saver should consider whether he shouldn’t shift money into higher-yielding investments from short-term passbooks,” he added.

Source: Interest rates to stay low to help growth: ECB’s Nowotny | Reuters.