ECB's Mario Draghi has run out of magic as deflation closes in 

The ECB is close to exhausting its ammunition and appears increasingly powerless to do more under the legal constraints of its mandate. It has downgraded its growth forecast for the next two years, citing the uncertainties of Brexit, and admitted that it has little chance of meeting its 2pc inflation target this decade, insisting that it is now up to governments to break out of the vicious circle.

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"It is abundantly clear that Draghi is played out and we're in the terminal phase of QE. The eurozone needs a quantum leap in the nature of policy and it has to come from fiscal policy," said sovereign bond strategist Nicholas Spiro.

Mr Draghi dashed hopes for an expansion of the ECB's monthly €80bn (£60bn) programme of bond purchases, and offered no guidance on whether the scheme would be extended after it expires in March 2017. There was not a discussion on the subject.

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Mr Redeker said the eurozone's current account surplus -- now running at €350bn, or 3.3pc of GDP -- is feeding the deflationary dynamic. Since European banks are shrinking their balance sheets and repatriating money to meet capital rules, they cannot recycle the eurozone surplus abroad. This is creating a chronic bias towards a stronger currency.

Work by the International Monetary Fund shows that "lowflation" -- even short of deflation - causes to a host of debilitating pathologies. It holds down nominal GDP and makes it even harder to work off high-debt ratios.

In theory, Mr Draghi could resort to even more radical measures but the scope is limited and he is walking through a political minefield. Public trust in the ECB has collapsed in several countries and the mood in Germany has turned toxic. The German banking and insurance lobbies have accused the ECB of destroying their business models with negative rates.