FRANKFURT (MNI) – The European Central Bank announced on Monday
that it had settled no bond purchases in the week ending July 13, thus
extending its bond-buying pause to 18 consecutive weeks.
As a result, the cumulative total still on the bank’s balance sheet
remained at E211.5 billion. As usual, the central bank said it will seek
to sterilize the entire amount through a quick tender to collect
one-week term deposits.
The deposit tender, to be held Tuesday at 0930 GMT/0530 ET, will be
conducted as a variable-rate operation with a maximum bid rate of 0.75%
after last week’s rate cut, the ECB said. The fixed-term deposits can be
used as collateral in the Eurosystem’s credit operations.
The ECB said it would hold another term-deposit tender on Tuesday
July 17th to sterilize SMP bonds still on its books.
Earlier this month, ECB Governing Council member Klaas Knot had
said that the central bank’s bond buying program would remain “in a deep
sleep.” He added: “That is where it will stay.”
— Frankfurt bureau: +49 69 720 142; email: frankfurt@marketnews.com —
[TOPICS: M$$CR$,M$X$$$,M$XDS$,MN$MM$,M$$EC$]