The European Central Bank has sent a warning signal on the prospects of Europe’s economy and announced the launch of another round of cheap long-term liquidity for eurozone banks to help cushion the effects of a fast-weakening recovery.

To counter the possible worsening of the current economic slowdown, on March 7 after a meeting of the bank’s governing council Mario Draghi, ECB president, said that interest rates would remain at their current weak or negative levels for longer than previously announced under the central bank’s “forward guidance”.