The European Central Bank is contemplating a broad-based asset purchase program that could mirror the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing, potentially fueling a rally in Europe exchange traded funds.
“The objective here would not be to defend the current stance, but rather to increase meaningfully the degree of monetary accommodation,” ECB president Mario Draghi said in a speech in Amsterdam, Bloomberg reports. “The Governing Council is committed –- unanimously –- to using both unconventional and conventional instruments to deal effectively with the risks of a too-prolonged period of low inflation.”
The ECB is considering an asset program to help help reverse a deflationary trend in the Eurozone market – inflation slowed to 0.5% last month, the weakest pace in over four years and below the ECB’s 2% target.
Additionally, the strengthening euro currency has been weighing on the recovery of the Eurozone economy.
“A rise in the exchange rate, all else being equal, implies a tightening of monetary conditions, a downward impact on inflation and potentially a threat to the ongoing recovery,” Draghi said. “If so, this would call for policy action to maintain the current accommodative stance.”