ECB plans to bring its bond-buying program to a close in December

The European Central Bank on Thursday said it would look to wind down its bond-buying program by the end of the year. The ECB, in a statement following a meeting of the Governing Council, said it would continue its program of buying 30 billion euros a month of bonds through September, as planned. Beginning in October, the ECB plans to reduce its purchases to 15 billion euros a month through the end of December, then bringing them to an end, provided data confirms the bank's medium-term inflation outlook. The ECB, as expected, left interest rates unchanged.