The European Central Bank (ECB)
on Thursday confirmed monthly purchases of $80 billion in
government paper and said interest rates will remain flat or
come lower for a prolonged period.
The massive bond-buying or quantitative easing (QE)
programme will continue through March 2017 at least, and rates
will stay low after it ends, the ECB said.
The ECB earlier left rates unchanged, with the principal
rate at 0.00%, the bank deposit rate at -0.40% and refinancing
rates at 0.25%.
ECB chief Mario Draghi said eurozone growth is expected to
slow down and third-quarter growth will likely be flat compared
to the second quarter.
The ECB believes "negative interest rates are working", he
said.
Draghi's bond-buying program - which is designed to push
interest rates down while boosting credit - was launched January
22, 2015, and involved 60 billion euros in monthly bond
purchases from across the eurozone. It was originally slated to
end in September 2016.
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