NAPLES, Italy — European Central Bank head Mario Draghi underlined the bank’s willingness to step up its economic stimulus efforts — but left open questions about the size of upcoming measures after the bank’s meeting Thursday.
European markets fell after his statements, as some investors were hoping for a stronger commitment to more stimulus.
Germany’s main index declined 2 percent, France’s 2.8 percent and Italy’s a whopping 3.9 percent. The euro rose to $1.2654 from $1.2630 earlier in the day, a sign that currency traders were scaling back their expectations for future monetary stimulus.
Draghi warned that the economic recovery in the 18 euro countries is “weak, fragile, and uneven” and held out the eventual prospect of doing large-scale bond purchases, or quantitative easing, later on if the economy gets even worse.
Yet his remarks during a press conference mostly focused on stimulus programs the ECB has already unveiled in June and September and will carry out in coming months. They include ultra-cheap loans to banks and purchases of bundles of bank loans.
Draghi declined to put a figure on the amount of stimulus the bank planned, and he left the impression that even bigger efforts weren’t imminent.
