Benchmark
Draghi's Claim of QE Flexibility Is Attracting Doubters
The ECB will need to wind down bond buying next year as it runs out of securities, economists say
ECB President Mario Draghi looks on during a news conference in Frankfurt, Germany, on Thursday, March 9, 2017.
Photographer: Alex Kraus/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The European Central Bank may not have as much flexibility left in its bond-buying program as Mario Draghi insists.
As the Governing Council kicks off discussion about the future of its asset purchases, the question that will loom large is how much wiggle room policy makers have to extend their 2.3 trillion-euro program ($2.7 trillion). Not much, according to two economists. They believe the ECB's decision to wind down bond buying next year will be a matter of necessity rather a choice.