ECB Trims Emergency Support - But Don't Call It Tapering

• The European Central Bank (ECB) will trim emergency bond purchases over the coming quarter, it said on Thursday, taking a first small step towards unwinding the emergency aid that has propped up the eurozone economy during the coronavirus pandemic. 
• After the ECB pulled out all the stops last year as COVID-19 ravaged the economy, high vaccination rates across Europe are bolstering recovery prospects and policymakers have been under pressure to acknowledge that the worst is over. 
• With the economy now on a stronger footing, the ECB said that favourable financing conditions could be maintained with a "moderately lower pace" of asset purchases compared to the 80 billion euros it bought per month during the past two quarters

(Source: Reuters)