European Central Bank Stands Pat On Stimulus Settings

The European Central Bank kept stimulus settings in place to assert that current conditions are enough to keep the economy in line for a rebound, according to Bloomberg.

• The deposit rate was kept steady at -0.5%, as officials said they will continue to provide long-term loans to lenders in efforts to keep credit flows to businesses and households.
• The pandemic-bond buying program was also held at 1.85 trillion euros or $2.2 trillion. Purchases will run at an elevated pace this quarter.
• Average spending under the pandemic program has been increased to 17 billion euros per week since the March ECB meeting. This is up from about 14 billion weekly in the first weeks of the year.
• In its meeting last month, the ECB vowed to boost asset purchases in efforts to contain the fallover of a government-bond sell-odd. The aim is to keep favorable borrowing costs, with net purchases set to last until end-March 2022.
• President Chrisine Lagarde is scheduled to hold a virtual press conference where she is likely to be asked about plans for winding down emergency stimulus, and the ongoing strategy review.