ECB to decide on dialling down crisis stimulus

Until now, the ECB has insisted that any surge in consumer prices is destined to be temporary, allowing officials led by president Christine Lagarde (pic) to keep crisis stimulus flowing.

BRUSSELS: The European Central Bank (ECB) will decide this week if it should dare to dial down emergency stimulus while the pandemic still menaces the eurozone economy.

The threat posed by the Delta variant of the coronavirus could yet embolden policy makers on Thursday to keep up the “significantly higher” pace of bond purchases they adopted earlier this year. But advanced vaccination rates, a robust rebound and inflation that is already at the fastest in a decade are all reasons to consider a downward shift in gears.