ECB triples bond buys

(FRANKFURT) - The European Central Bank said on Monday it more than tripled its purchases of the bonds of eurozone nations last week, as it seeks to keep a lid on borrowing costs for crisis-wracked members of the bloc.

The ECB bought 3.76 billion euros ($4.76 billion) of bonds from eurozone countries on the secondary market, compared to 1.10 billion euros the week before.

Nevertheless, the volume remains modest compared with amounts purchased last summer. In August, the ECB bought as much as 22 billion euros worth of bonds in a single week.

As usual, the ECB did not specify which country's bonds it had bought.

The bank has now bought a total 217 billion euros in eurozone government bonds since it first began the controversial operations in 2010 as part of efforts to ease debt strains in the 17-nation bloc.

It resumed major purchases in August when renewed strains pushed Italian and Spanish borrowing rates to unsustainable levels but purchases have dropped sharply in the past two weeks.

Several European governments have put pressure on the ECB to step up its programme of buying bonds, seen by some as a possible solution to the debt crisis.

But ECB President Mario Draghi has stuck steadfastly to the official line, repeating to reporters on Thursday that the programme was limited and temporary.