ECB's Holzmann says low rates harmful in long term

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Low or negative interest rates harm the economy in the long term by curbing productivity, fuelling asset-price bubbles and fostering inequality, European Central Bank policymaker Robert Holzmann said on Wednesday.

"Many of us, I think, believe that in the medium and, in particular, long term, low interest rates and, in particular, negative interest rates are harmful," Holzmann, an outspoken hawk who heads the Austrian central bank, said in an online forum.

(Reporting By Francesco Canepa and Balazs Koranyi)