THE European Central Bank (ECB) is considering three possible options for buying government bonds ahead of its Jan. 22 policy meeting, Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad reported Tuesday, quoting unnamed sources.

    As fears grow that cheaper oil will tip the eurozone into deflation, speculation is rife that the ECB will unveil plans for mass purchases of eurozone government bonds with new money, a policy known as quantitative easing, as soon as this month.

    According to the paper, one option officials are considering is to pump liquidity into the financial system by having the ECB itself buy government bonds in a quantity proportionate to the given member state’s shareholding in the central bank.

    A second option is for the ECB to buy only triple-A rated government bonds, driving their yields down to zero or into negative territory. The hope is that this would push investors into buying riskier sovereign and corporate debt.

    The third option is similar to the first, but national central banks would do the buying, meaning that the risk would “in principle” remain with the country in question, the paper said.

    The ECB declined to comment on the report, although it appeared to be consistent with comments made by ECB chief economist Peter Praet to a German newspaper last week.

    (SD-Agencies)