ECB: markets should not expect new increases in debt purchases

European Central Bank (ECB) Executive Committee member Yves Mersch said today that markets should not expect a further increase in the entity's purchases of debt when the program conclude and stressed that this will gradually withdraw at the same time that inflation increases.

Frankfurt (Germany), Nov 16 (EFE) .- The member of the Executive Committee of the European Central Bank (ECB) Yves Mersch said today that markets should not expect a further increase in purchases of the entity's debt when the program ends and stressed that it will gradually withdraw at the same time as inflation increases.

In an interview with the American television channel CNBC, Mersch also said that "nobody would be too surprised" if the ECB slightly revised its growth forecasts again at the next meeting of its Governing Council on March 14. December.

The ECB agreed in October to halve its debt purchases and extend them at least until September 2018, but left open the option to increase them again if the economic situation worsened.

"Seen from today's perspective, I do not expect the markets to do the right thing anticipating an increase in our bond purchases at the end of the program," said the Luxembourg executive of the European bank.

Mersch also noted that the decline in inflation expected for the end of 2017 and the first months of 2018 "will be less pronounced of what could have been feared at the time. "

At its September meeting, the ECB Governing Council kept its inflation forecast for this year at 1.5 percent but it lowered one tenth its forecasts for 2018 and 2019 to 1.2 and 1.5 percent, respectively.

Likewise, it slightly revised upwards its forecasts of economic growth up to 2.2 percent for this year and 1.8 percent by 2018.