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Covid Cases Surge, ECB Asset Purchases Will Follow
The ECB Governing Council will probably announce in December an expansion of its pandemic emergency purchase program.
26 Oct 2020, 09:33 PM IST 
The stars of the European Union (EU) sit on banners flying outside the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters stands in Frankfurt, Germany. (Photographer: Peter Juelich/Bloomberg)
(Bloomberg) -- The European Central Bank Governing Council will probably announce in December an expansion of its pandemic emergency purchase program that is not only commensurate to the weakening of the economic outlook, but also allows room for manoeuvre if the situation were to deteriorate further. That’s according to Bloomberg Economics, which forecasts an increase to 1.8 trillion euros ($2.1 trillion), bringing overall bond purchases to more than 5 trillion euros by the end of 2023. As virus infections keep rising across the euro area, the chance is that the ECB sees no reason to wait and announces the larger figure this week.
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