ECB to halve bond buying as it plans to scale back quantitative easing

Gradual withdrawal of monetary stimulus will see European Central Bank's bond-buying programme cut from a60bn to a30bn a month

The European Central Bank (ECB) is to begin weaning the eurozone countries off billions of euros of monetary stimulus, edging back to normality following the recovery from the depths of the sovereign debt crisis nearly a decade ago.

The central bank announced on Thursday it would halve its bond-buying programme - used to temper surging debt costs and stimulate lending to households and businesses - from a60bn to a30bn a month starting from January. The ECB pledged a gradual withdrawal of so-called "quantitative easing" to smooth the return to normality without rattling financial markets.

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