ECB cuts interest rates and relaunches its bond-buying program

The European Central Bank is turning on the stimulus taps again, pushing interest rates further into negative territory in order to support the flagging eurozone economy.

Posted 12:21 p.m. Sep 12, 2019 — Updated 12:21 p.m. Sep 12, 2019

Julia Horowitz

, CNN Business

CNN — The European Central Bank is turning on the stimulus taps again, pushing interest rates further into negative territory in order to support the flagging eurozone economy.

The central bank said Thursday that it would cut its interest rate for deposits by 10 basis points to minus 0.5%, and keep them there or lower for the foreseeable future.

It also announced that it would start printing money again, promising to buy €20 billion ($22 billion) in financial assets per month starting in November. The central bank said it would continue the purchases for "as long as necessary."

Interest rates in the eurozone were already at historic lows, and the ECB had ended its recent asset-buying program in December.

But Germany, Europe's biggest economy, is on the brink of recession, and the US-China trade war is dragging on growth. In this environment, ECB President Mario Draghi had been indicating that the central bank would take decisive action.

This is a developing story.

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