In March 2015 the ECB started a quantitative easing programme, an extreme monetary policy to expand the money supply, either by lowering interest rates or through open market operations.
It’s usually used when almost all of the measures to reactivate economy fail and central banks have to experiment other tools to encourage banks to pump money into the economy.
Following the QE programme, known unofficially as “Plan Draghi” in the Eurozone, the ECB has bought since March 2015 over 60 billion worth of assets each month. Basically the ECB is buying bonds issued by governments or public institutions in the eurozone (such as the European Investment Bank ) with a maturity between 2 and 30 years.
Supposedly, the programme is planned to finish in September of 2016 but this plan generates a lot of questions.
But, what is exactly Quantitative Easing?
In practical terms, QE means that central banks create money out of nothing to buy securities, such as government bonds. This new money swells the size of bank reserves by the quantity of assets purchased and that’s why this programme is called Quantitative Easings. The money supply is intended to flood financial institutions with capital in an effort to stimulate lending and increase liquidity.
Much of the governments’ debt is held by banks in the Eurozone and the ECB wants them to give more credits. If the ECB buys government bonds, their prices rise and profitability drop even more. This is a liquidity-providing operation that weakens the value of the euro. This depreciation makes European exports cheaper and competitive, and ultimately, helps in recovering. In addition, as a result of the stimulus to internal and external consumption, the ECB combats the risk of deflation, a widespread and prolonged drop in prices, as well as the high unemployment.
Another QE's important aim is limiting investors appetite for government debt and promote that they divert their money to a more profitable investment in the production economy.
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Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD clings to small gains near 1.1750
Following a short-lasting correction in the early European session, EUR/USD regains its traction and clings to moderate gains at around 1.1750 on Monday. Nevertheless, the pair's volatility remains low, with investors awaiting this weeks key data releases from the US and the ECB policy announcements.
GBP/USD edges higher toward 1.3400 ahead of US data and BoE
GBP/USD reverses its direction and advances toward 1.3400 following a drop to the 1.3350 area earlier in the day. The US Dollar struggles to gather recovery momentum as markets await Tuesday's Nonfarm Payrolls data, while the Pound Sterling holds steady ahead of the BoE policy announcements later in the week.
Japanese Yen adds to strong gains and drags USD/JPY to 155.00 amid hawkish BoJ bets
The Japanese Yen extends its steady intraday ascent through the Asian session on Monday, dragging the USD/JPY pair to the 155.00 psychological mark in the last hour. Against the backdrop of the recent shift in rhetoric from Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda, an improvement in business confidence reaffirms market bets for an imminent rate hike this week.
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD clings to small gains near 1.1750
Following a short-lasting correction in the early European session, EUR/USD regains its traction and clings to moderate gains at around 1.1750 on Monday. Nevertheless, the pair's volatility remains low, with investors awaiting this weeks key data releases from the US and the ECB policy announcements.
GBP/USD edges higher toward 1.3400 ahead of US data and BoE
GBP/USD reverses its direction and advances toward 1.3400 following a drop to the 1.3350 area earlier in the day. The US Dollar struggles to gather recovery momentum as markets await Tuesday's Nonfarm Payrolls data, while the Pound Sterling holds steady ahead of the BoE policy announcements later in the week.
Gold pulls away from session high, holds above $4,300
Gold loses its bullish momentum and retreats below $4,350 after testing this level earlier on Monday. XAU/USD, however, stays in positive territory as the US Dollar remains on the back foot on growing expectations for a dovish Fed policy outlook next year.
Solana consolidates as spot ETF inflows near $1 billion signal institutional dip-buying
Solana price hovers above $131 at the time of writing on Monday, nearing the upper boundary of a falling wedge pattern, awaiting a decisive breakout. On the institutional side, demand for spot Solana Exchange-Traded Funds remained firm, pushing total assets under management to nearly $1 billion since launch.
Big week ends with big doubts
The S&P 500 continued to push higher yesterday as the US 2-year yield wavered around the 3.50% mark following a Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cut earlier this week that was ultimately perceived as not that hawkish after all. The cut is especially boosting the non-tech pockets of the market.
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