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ECB keeps bond purchases low
THE EUROPEAN Central Bank kept its controversial government bond purchases to an absolute minimum last week, spending less than €150m for the third week running and shrugging off anxieties surrounding Greece’s strained debt deal.
The ECB has all but halted its purchases of troubled Eurozone debt over the last month and a half, following both a substantial improvement in key Eurozone bond markets and the emergence of calls for it to take losses on its Greek bonds.
Last week’s €59m worth of purchases represents another token signal that the programme is still operational and edges the amount the ECB has spent since starting the purchases back in May 2010, up to €219.5bn.