FRANKFURT—The European Central Bank could be ready as soon as next month with plans to finally start scaling back its extraordinary stimulus efforts as the eurozone’s economy gathers speed. Long-term interest rates would rise for borrowers such as governments, leaving less for spending on other things, and for people with mortgages. The bond purchases, which began in March 2015, have pumped newly printed money into the banking system, lowering long-term interest rates and making credit more easily available. The purchases are set to run at €60 billion per month through the end of the year, and longer if needed, to raise the inflation rate. To further help the economy, the ECB left its benchmark short-term interest rate at zero, and its deposit rate at negative 0.4 per cent, both record lows.

Source: thestar September 07, 2017 18:11 UTC