European Bank To Keep Pandemic Programme

THE European Central Bank has decided to keep its pandemic stimulus efforts unchanged even as consumer prices spike and central banks in other parts of the world look to dial back support as their economies bounce back from the worst of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The decision affecting the 19 European Union countries that use the euro currency sets up a debate in December about when and how to end the 1.85 trillion euro (£1.56 trillion) stimulus programme.

The bond purchase programme drove down longer-term borrowing costs for businesses as they weathered shutdowns and for governments as they spent more on pandemic support.

It is slated to run at least through March 2022 - or until the bank deems the crisis phase of the pan

demic over - but a recent burst of inflation has sharpened questions about whether the exit should come sooner rather than later.

Bank officials, however, have maintained that much of the recent surge in prices is temporary.