MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The European Central Bank (ECB) will officially launch its €1,1 trillion ($1,2 trillion) bond-purchase program on March 9, ECB President Mario Draghi said Thursday.
Draghi: ECB to start buying public sector bonds on Monday, March 9, 2015
— ECB (@ecb) 5 Март 2015
The ECB plans to buy €60 billion ($67 billion) worth of government and corporate bonds every month until September 2016.
The decision to start purchasing public sector bonds was made in mid-January. The program is aimed to stimulate the economic recovery of the Eurozone and to decrease the risk of deflation.
At a press-conference following Thursday's ECB Governing Council meeting in Nicosia, Draghi said that he expects economic recovery in the Eurozone to "gradually broaden and strengthen."
He also noted that the ECB foresees GDP growth in the Eurozone to accelerate to 1.5 percent in 2015, in contrast with last year's 0.9 percent. In 2016, growth is forecast to increase to 1.9 percent and in 2017 – to 2.1 percent.
