Positive effects on the financial and foreign exchange markets emerged as soon as the preparation of the programme was announced. From the beginning of November, and despite a rise in recent weeks that mainly reflected improved growth and inflation expectations, yields on ten-year German and Italian government securities have fallen by about 20 and 60 basis points respectively.
The euro has depreciated by more than 10 per cent against the dollar and by 6 per cent in nominal effective terms. The stimulus has spread to market segments not directly affected by the asset purchases and to credit supply conditions. Inflation expectations have begun to improve, though only slightly.