ECB's Nowotny Cautions Against Low Inflation

(RTTNews) - European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said on Tuesday that Eurozone inflation is likely to remain very low for some time.

Speaking at a banking conference in Vienna, Nowotny said, "We have to take seriously the perspective that we have very low inflation rates for the time to come."

"It is a technical question - when and in what way you react?", the Austrian central bank chief said.

Inflation expectations are stable, he pointed out, adding that there was no fear of inflation or deflation. That said, the deflationary side remains more relevant for policy as of now, he noted.

In contrast to the Federal Reserve, the ECB has not reached the lower bound on interest rates, Nowotny said, echoing comments from some ECB policymakers. Executive Board member Jorg Asmussen made similar comments in a newspaper interview on Tuesday.

Nowotny ruled out any North-South divide in the Governing Council. Media reports this week suggested that Nowotny and Asmussen were among the policymakers who opposed a rate cut this month.

The policymaker also expressed reservation about publishing minutes of the six-member Governing Council meetings soon after the session.

Regarding the state of the euro area economy, Nowotny said, 'There is no fast way out, it will take some time, but what we do see now is that things are improving.'