ECB’s Coeure sees ‘reasonable chance’ bond buys will not be extended

ECB’s Coeure sees ‘reasonable chance’ bond buys will not be extended
This file photo taken on April 27, 2017 shows the European Central Bank (BCE), is pictured in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in this April 27, 2017 photo. (AFP)
Updated 31 December 2017 08:09
Follow

ECB’s Coeure sees ‘reasonable chance’ bond buys will not be extended

ECB’s Coeure sees ‘reasonable chance’ bond buys will not be extended

FRANKFURT: The man in charge of carrying out the European Central Bank’s bond purchases sees “a reasonable chance” the €2.55 trillion stimulus program will not be extended again when it expires in September, he told a Chinese financial magazine.
Benoit Coeure, the ECB board member in charge of its market operations, was once a key supporter of President Mario Draghi’s ultra-easy policy but has been opening the door to an eventual withdrawal of stimulus in recent months.
“Given what we see in the economy, I believe that there is a reasonable chance that the extension of our asset purchase program decided in October can be the last,” Coeure told Caixin Global.
He said the ECB could keep the program in place if needed but also had “plenty of instruments with which to react” if inflation in the eurozone, currently seen below 2 percent for years to come, turned out higher than expected.