ECB to ‘remain firm’ on its stimulus plan

European Central Bank policymakers agreed at their March meeting to “remain firm” in implementing their large-scale asset-purchase programme, even though the economic outlook is improving, records published yesterday showed.

The Governing Council, at its policy meeting on March 5, said it would begin printing money to buy bonds — so-called quantitative easing (QE) — on the following Monday, March 9. It also presented updated forecasts from its staff economists that gave a more rosy outlook, but policymakers agreed that did not reduce the need for QE.

“The March 2015 projections should… not be interpreted as suggesting that the latest monetary policy measures were less necessary,” the accounts of the meeting read.