ECB presses ahead with quantitative easing, promises more action if necessary

[FRANKFURT] The European Central Bank's 60 billion euros per month asset purchase programme will continue until September 2016 or until inflation rises to its target, ECB President Mario Draghi said on Thursday.

"The asset purchase programmes continue to proceed smoothly," Mr Draghi told a news conference after the bank has left interest rates unchanged.

"If any factors were to lead to an unwarranted tightening of monetary policy, or if the outlook for price stability were to materially change, the (ECB) ... would respond to such a situation by using all the instruments available within its mandate," he said.

The ECB rolled out quantitative easing earlier this year to get the currency block out of deflation and its last forecast in June indicated that inflation would rise to the target of just under 2 per cent by 2017.

REUTERS