ECB governing council considers if rates can rise before QE ends

Frankfurt

EUROPEAN Central Bank policy makers considered the question of whether interest rates could rise before their bond-buying programme comes to an end, according to people familiar with the matter.

Governing Council members meeting on March 9 exchanged views on ways of communicating and sequencing an exit from unconventional stimulus, euro-area central-bank officials said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations were private. The council didn't discuss any specific scenario or timeline and hasn't made any formal decisions on a strategy. An ECB spokesman declined to comment.