ECB cuts Italian, Spanish debt purchases as markets hold nerve
Reuters
Published Oct 05, 2020 11:08AM ET
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank bought less Italian and Spanish government debt in the past two months as market pressure on both indebted countries stayed low despite a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, data showed on Monday.
The ECB bought 26.8 billion euros of Italian public-sector bonds and 18.7 billion euros of Spanish government debt through its stimulus programmes in August and September, the data showed.
That was slightly more than their quotas, but the deviation from was smaller than during the spring, when a surge in borrowing costs had forced the ECB to the rescue of the two struggling countries.
Italy was the euro zone country where the first wave of the pandemic took the heaviest toll. It was later overtaken by Spain, which currently counts 32,086 coronavirus fatalities and 789,932 confirmed cases - the worst in Western Europe.
In total, the ECB bought 126.8 billion euros worth of state debt under its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme in the past two months, plus 38.3 billion euros under its regular Public Sector Purchase Programme.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.