FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank is ready to expand its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Scheme as early as June, if economic data warrant such a move, policymakers concluded in their April 30 meeting, the accounts of discussion showed on Friday.
“It (the Governing Council) was fully prepared to increase the size of the PEPP and adjust its composition, and potentially its other instruments, if, in the light of information that became available before its June meeting, it judged that the scale of the stimulus was falling short of what was needed,” the ECB said.
Policymakers agreed at the April meeting to provide loans at even more favourable terms but held back on big moves such as extending or expanding asset purchases, disappointing some market players.
The ECB will next meet on June 4 and many expect it to increase asses buys by as much as 500 billion euros ($545.15 billion) this year as the euro zone economy shrinks by around a tenth this year.
(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Francesco Canepa)
