ECB may extend bond-buying programme

A rebound in the euro late last summer, coupled with further falls in the price of oil, partly explains a slowdown in eurozone inflation, the European Central Bank (ECB) said in its economic bulletin yesterday.

The central bank’s top officials also raised concerns that suggested that it may expand its bond-buying programme.

The comments by the ECB and what it plans to do at its meeting next month are being closely watched by Irish exporters, who have benefited from the huge amounts of quantitative easing pumped into buying eurozone bonds and assets.