ECM: ECB settled 13.3 bln euros of bond buys last week
By William L. Watts
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- The European Central Bank on Monday said it settled bond purchases totaling 13.3 billion euros ($18.8 billion) last week, up from 6.7 billion euros the previous week. The ECB resumed bond purchases under its Securities Market Program in early August and has been seen buying Spanish and Italian government bonds, bringing down yields from above 6% in an effort to prevent the spread of the euro-zone sovereign debt crisis. As it does each week, the ECB said it would conduct a tender on Tuesday to reabsorb liquidity provided by its bond-buying program. Italian and Spanish yields were back on the rise Monday, with the 10-year Italian yield up around 29 basis points at 5.49%, while the 10-year Spanish yield ES:10YR_ESP +2.35% jumped nearly 11 basis points to 5.21%, according to FactSet Research data.
