The European Central Bank will halt its bond-buying program by the end of this year — a landmark decision that sets the euro area up for an exit from years of massive monetary support.
The euro and bond yields dropped after the ECB said it’ll phase out the stimulus tool with 15 billion euros ($17.7 billion) of purchases in each of the final three months of the year. It also pledged to keep interest rates unchanged at current record lows at least through the summer of 2019.
The End of an Era
- Bond buying to continue at 30 billion euros a month until September
- Purchases to be phased out with 15 billion euros in each of October, November and December
- Maturing debt will be reinvested for an extended period after end of net asset purchases
- Interest rates will stay at current levels at least through the summer of 2019, or longer if needed for inflation
- End of net asset purchases remains subject to incoming data