'Soft rates must stay, for now'

ST LOUIS: Two regional Federal Reserve Bank presidents, speaking before Friday’s release of a February report on US jobs, said they believe the central bank should keep rates low until the recovery picks up.

Chicago Fed President Charles Evans told reporters in Chicago on Thursday that he needs to see signs of “highly sustainable” growth before supporting steps towards tighter monetary policy.

St Louis Fed President James Bullard has said that, with the economy on the mend, policy makers want to remain “very accommodative”.