ECB meeting in focus

Investors are paying close attention to the European Central Bank meeting in Malta today, as worries about inflation and global growth raise the prospect of further easing.

Disinflation returned to the eurozone last month for the first time since March, with price growth slipping to minus 0.1 per cent.

Meanwhile, concerns about China’s impact on global growth have deepened after the country’s economy expanded at its slowest pace in six years in the third quarter.

ECB president Mario Draghi is expected to reiterate the bank’s commitment to expanding its bond-buying programme should conditions warrant.

And while most analysts don’t think the bank will announce fresh stimulus today, they do anticipate a further softening in the language ahead of any possible decision to boost the €1.1 trillion package.

Ewald Nowotny, a member of the governing council at the central bank, said this week that the ECB will "clearly miss" its inflation target and that “additional sets of instruments are necessary” if the bank is to achieve its objectives.