New figures show that the European Central Bank scaled down its controversial government bond buys last week as Ireland stood on the brink of an EU/IMF bailout.
ECB figures showed that it settled €713m worth of bond buys in the week to November 19, down from just over €1 billion the week before. This raised the total bought under the programme to €66 billion.
The figures may not give the full picture. The ECB adds the caveat that the total may be higher than the reported numbers as deals take two to three days to be finalised and settled.
The ECB introduced the purchases in May as its contribution to the hastily-introduced €750 billion EU/IMF euro zone rescue package pieced together after Greece's debt problems erupted.
Euro zone debt market tensions eased last week as expectations grew that Ireland would become the second euro zone country to request EU/IMF aid to stabilise its finances.
It finally took the step on Sunday although key questions, including how much aid will be needed, remain unanswered.
The ECB can buy government and corporate bonds under the purchase programme but it has given no further details, such as how much it could spend or how long it intends to buy for.
Buying has also been erratic. Having spent €16.5 billion in the first week, purchases slowed to a trickle by early August. They then increased again in September as Irish and Portuguese fears escalated, only to grind to a halt in October.
Influential ECB policymaker Axel Weber, who heads the German central bank, last month renewed his fierce opposition to the purchases, saying they had not worked and should be scrapped.
