ECB sovereign bond buying already at €9.8

Sovereign bond purchasing has begun in dynamic fashion, with Executive Board member Benoit Coure telling an audience in Paris that the Central Bank had purchased €9.8 billion worth of soveriegn bonds in the opening three days of the scheme.

The move has driven bond yields to record lows, and yesterday, the Spanish ten-year was trading at 1.02% yesterday. Once again, the sale was over-subscribed, with the coverage ratio standing at 3.19.

Friday is expected to be a quiet day on European markets, with inflation results from Italy the only data of real note in the EMU area. Forecast predict that harmonised inflation will drop by -2.5% year-on-year in the eurozone’s third largest economy.

Elsewhere, there may be further updates on the Greek situation, with EU politicians likely to respond to the joint press conference held yesterday between Alexis Tsipras and OECD Secretary General, Angel Gurría. Both parties announced that the OECD would be advising the Greek government about structural reforms, with Mr Tsipras keen to stress that the policies discussed with the OECD differed strongly from those of the troika.