European Central Bank in wait and see mode over eurozone stimulus
- 10 years ago
There was no policy change from the European Central Bank at its November meeting, despite the eurozone’s weak growth.
Interest rates were kept at record lows.
ECB President Mario Draghi and the other policymakers are waiting for stimulus to unfold before considering further steps.
At his news conference Draghi will be closely questioned on how close the ECB is to being more more aggressive with measures like quantitative easing – that is printing money to buy large amounts of government bonds.
This all comes amid reports that some Governing Council members are not happy with Draghi’s leadership style.
To keep the eurozone from slipping into deflation, the ECB has started pumping more money into the banking system through purchases of private debt and offers of long-term loans, aiming to boost its balance sheet by up to one trillion euros.
There is growing doubt whether its current measures will be enough, but the ECB is expected to wait until it gets a clearer view of the economy and the impact of its asset purchases and four-year loans to banks before adding further stimulus.
Interest rates were kept at record lows.
ECB President Mario Draghi and the other policymakers are waiting for stimulus to unfold before considering further steps.
At his news conference Draghi will be closely questioned on how close the ECB is to being more more aggressive with measures like quantitative easing – that is printing money to buy large amounts of government bonds.
This all comes amid reports that some Governing Council members are not happy with Draghi’s leadership style.
To keep the eurozone from slipping into deflation, the ECB has started pumping more money into the banking system through purchases of private debt and offers of long-term loans, aiming to boost its balance sheet by up to one trillion euros.
There is growing doubt whether its current measures will be enough, but the ECB is expected to wait until it gets a clearer view of the economy and the impact of its asset purchases and four-year loans to banks before adding further stimulus.