ECB backs eurozone rates

EUROPEAN Central Bank vice-president Lucas Papademos said yesterday that interest rates in the euro area are ‘appropriate’, even as the price of oil reaches a record and growth sputters.

“The current level of interest rates is appropriate,” Mr Papademos said. Borrowing costs “are exceptionally low and correspondingly provide considerable support for economic activity.”

ECB policy makers have left rates at a six-decade low since June 2003, even as politicians including German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder call for a cut in borrowing costs to foster growth.