The European Central Bank launched its most aggressive intervention in government bond markets for seven months after Jean-Claude Trichet, president, unveiled a determined – but carefully calibrated – response to the eurozone crisis.
Traders said the ECB was on Thursday buying Portuguese and Irish bonds in €100m tranches – four times bigger than previously. The moves sharply brought down the cost of borrowing for Lisbon and Dublin and sparked a euro rally.
Addressing a press conference in Frankfurt, Mr Trichet stopped short of an explicit announcement that the euro’s monetary guardian was escalating its actions to restore investor confidence in the eurozone.