By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: People are silhouetted in front of the head quarter of the European Central Bank (ECB,R) during sunset as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Frankfurt, Germany, March 27, 2021. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank sped up the pace of its emergency bond-buying programme by 22.7% in March despite a slowdown in the runup to Easter, with Germany the biggest beneficiary of its stimulus, data showed on Tuesday.
The ECB bought 73.5 billion euros worth of bonds under its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) last month after pledging to raise buying volumes and cap a rise in borrowing costs that threatened to derail the euro zone’s recovery from a pandemic-induced recession.