The European Central Bank has said it will accelerate the pace of its bond buying over the next three months in response to the eurozone’s rising borrowing costs and faltering economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

In its latest monetary policy decision, published on Thursday, the central bank kept its policies unchanged, but said: “Based on a joint assessment of financing conditions and the inflation outlook, the governing council expects purchases under the [pandemic emergency purchase programme] over the next quarter to be conducted at a significantly higher pace than during the first months of this year.”

The statement came against a backdrop of growing interest among investors and economists about how it will respond to the recent sell-off in bond markets, which risks hampering the single currency bloc’s already-stuttering recovery by pushing up the cost of finance for businesses and households.