Economics
ECB Steps Up ‘Whatever It Takes’ Fight to Save Euro Area
- Legal document says so-called issue limits won’t apply
- ECB will be able to buy bonds with shorter maturities
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The European Central Bank scrapped most of the bond-buying limits in its 750 billion-euro ($819 billion) pandemic emergency program, in a landmark decision that massively boosts its firepower to fight the economic fallout from the coronavirus.
Government bonds rallied across the euro area after the ECB released a legal document that said the issue limits, which constrained sovereign bond-buying to a third of each of its member state’s debt, “should not apply” to its new program.