European Central Bank sticks to plan to end stimulus
FRANKFURT — The European Central Bank said Thursday it is staying on course to wrap up its 2.5 trillion euro ($2.85 trillion) stimulus program at the end of the year, even as risks from trade protectionism, Italian populist policies, and Brexit loom ever larger.
The central bank for the 19 countries that use the euro left its key interest rates and the end-date for its stimulus program unchanged at its meeting in Frankfurt, Germany.
Its president, Mario Draghi, told a news conference that the eurozone economy was seeing “somewhat weaker momentum… not a downturn” as he explained the bank’s stay-put stance.
Economic indicators have softened in recent months amid a range of risks: from Britain possibly leaving the European Union without a negotiated exit deal in March 2019, to increasing trade protectionism and Italy’s dispute with EU authorities over its spending plans.