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ECB chief says QE proceeding smoothly

Xinhua, April 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi on Wednesday said the asset purchase program, or quantitative easing (QE), was proceeding smoothly.

Speaking at a monthly press conference following the monetary policy meeting here, Draghi said there was clear evidence the monetary policy measures which the ECB had put in place were effective. The central bank on Wednesday decided to keep key interest rates unchanged.

Financial market conditions and the cost of external finance for the private sector have eased considerably over the past months and borrowing conditions for firms and households have improved notably, with a pick-up in the demand for credit, he said.

The ECB started purchasing euro-denominated public sector securities in March as part of the expanded asset purchase program, which also comprises purchases of asset-backed securities and covered bonds. Purchases are intended to run at least until the end of September 2016.

With regard to the inflation rate, Draghi cited the flash estimate from Eurostat. The annual inflation rate in March stood at minus 0.1 percent, up from minus 0.3 percent in February and minus 0.6 percent in January.

The press conference was interrupted briefly when a protestor went on to the stage and threw confetti on the central bank president. Endit