European Central Bank keeps pandemic support going

By DAVID McHUGH
AP Business Writer

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank has decided to keep its pandemic stimulus efforts unchanged even as consumer prices spike and central banks in other parts of the world look to dial back support as their economies bounce back from the worst of the COVID-19 outbreak. The decision Thursday affects the 19 European Union countries that use the euro currency. The bank’s president underlined that the burst of inflation was temporary and the economy still needed support from the bank’s 1.85 trillion euro stimulus program. But she added that the program would conclude at its previously announced earliest end date in March, opening the way for a decision at December’s meeting on what might come next.