Draghi seen ready for one more QE sprint in ECB stimulus finale

Frankfurt

THE jolt Mario Draghi is set to give the euro-area economy may well be his last, economists say.

The European Central Bank president will announce an extension of asset purchases on Thursday at the current pace of 80 billion euros (S$129 billion) a month, according to most economists in a Bloomberg survey. Slowly accelerating inflation and a moderate but steady recovery will then give Mr Draghi room to start tapering by late 2017, three quarters of the respondents said.

Policymakers have become more vocal in stressing the risks and limits of their ultra-expansionary stance, in a sign that a discussion about scaling back bond buying is drawing closer. With a decision on the 1.7 trillion-euro quantitative-easing programme coming just four days after a referendum in Mr Draghi's native Italy, and looming elections in Europe weighing on governments' willingness to overhaul their economies, the onus remains on the ECB to ensure that stimulus w…