ECB to maintain status quo when it meets on Thursday: traders

[FRANKFURT] The European Central Bank will keep policy unchanged when it meets on Thursday, even as pressure builds on the central bank to do more, according to a majority of euro money market traders polled by Reuters.

The eurozone's central bank may discuss technical adjustments to its asset purchase scheme but a decision could be deferred until December, sources familiar with the discussion told Reuters last week.

Eurozone inflation was just 0.4 per cent in September on an annual basis, nowhere near the ECB's 2 per cent target ceiling, but 15 of 19 traders in Monday's Reuters poll said the ECB would keep policy unchanged on Thursday.

The other four traders expect the ECB to announce an extension to its monthly bond-buying beyond its current end-date in March 2017.

When asked what the ECB would do by year-end, 11 of 19 traders said the ECB would make no changes to policy. The remainder said it would extend quantitative easing beyond March 2017, increase the amount of monthly asset purchases, or both.

Currently the ECB buys bonds worth 80 billion euros each month.

The regular survey showed banks will take 31.0 billion euros (S$47.57 billion) from the ECB at its weekly refinancing operation, similar to the 32.9 billion euros maturing from last week.

REUTERS