ECB's balance sheet nudges up in week to January 30
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The balance sheet of the European Central Bank and the euro zone's national central banks increased by 22.2 billion euros (17 billion pounds) to 2.18 trillion euros in the week to Jan. 30, the ECB said on Tuesday.
The ECB balance sheet increased as the central bank increased its holdings of securities and pumped more liquidity into the economy.
The ECB is aiming to bring its balance sheet close to levels last seen in early 2012 -- when it briefly topped 3 trillion euros -- to spur lending to business and bolster the economy.
To do this, it will begin buying government bonds, a programme expected to pump hundreds of billions in new money into a stagnant euro zone economy.
The ECB's gold reserves were unchanged in the week to Jan. 30 at 343.87 billion euros.
Net foreign exchange reserves in the Eurosystem of central banks increased by 0.6 billion euros to 244 billion euros, the ECB said.
(Reporting by Paul Carrel; Editing by Larry King)
