ECB's QE bond buying hits €1 trillion milestone

The European Central Bank's quantitative easing program passed a milestone last week, topping 1 trillion euros in purchases after 18 months of aggressive bond buying. ECB figures for the week ended Sept. 2 show the central bank has now bought €1,001 billion in sovereign debt. The bank is using a so-called "capital key" to determine how many bonds from each countries it should buy, with the amount proportional to a member state's gross domestic product. As of the end of August, the ECB has bought €238 billion in German Bunds, €189 billion in French government paper and €164 billion in Italian bonds since March 2015. The central bank announced its QE program in January 2015 in an effort to boost growth and inflation across the eurozone. Inflation in the bloc is currently at 0.2%, well below the ECB's target of close to 2%, which has prompted heavy debate among economists as to whether the purchases are working as intended. The bank's policy makers are scheduled to hold their regular meeting on Thursday, and expectations are mixed: Some analysts expect the ECB to extend the run of the QE program beyond March 2017, while others expect the bank to wait until later in the year before acting, in order to have a better understanding of the Brexit fallout.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.