European Central Bank's policymakers were holding a rare, unscheduled meeting on Wednesday to discuss a blowout in borrowing costs for some euro zone nations, fanning speculation the bank may be gearing to act to calm markets, Reuters reported.
Yields of bonds issued by Italy and other debt-laden nations have risen sharply since the ECB flagged a series of rate hikes last Thursday and wound down a debt-buying programme in the face of soaring inflation.
Facing the threat of a repeat of the debt crisis that almost brought down the single currency a decade ago, ECB's policy-setting Governing Council was meeting to discuss how to respond to recent market turmoil.
Investors have pushed the spread between the yields of German bonds and those of more indebted southern nations to their highest since the height of the pandemic two years ago - a sign of waning confidence in those countries.
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