FRANKFURT (MNI) – For the third consecutive week, the European
Central Bank announced that it has made no bond purchases through its
Securities Markets Programme in the week ending March 18, the central
bank announced on Monday.
The last time the central bank went so long without settling any
purchases was back in early February.
The ECB also reported that E170 million in bonds matured last week.
As a result, the total amount of bond buys to be drained was
unchanged at E77.5 billion, the central bank said. The ECB will drain
that amount in a quick tender to collect one-week term deposits.
The operation, to be conducted on Tuesday at 10:30 GMT, will be in
the form of a variable-rate tender with a maximum bid rate of 1.00%, the
bank said. The liquidity will be held for one week at the bank as a term
deposit. The fixed-term deposits can be used as collateral in the
Eurosystem’s credit operations.
The central bank also said it intends to hold another
liquidity-absorbing operation next week.
— Frankfurt bureau: +49 69 720 142; email: frankfurt@marketnews.com —
[TOPICS: MGX$$$,M$X$$$,M$$EC$]
