ECB chief Mario Draghi on Thursday denied the bank was preparing to wind down its massive bond-buying programme, a crucial part of its unprecedented stimulus efforts to bolster the euro area's still fragile recovery.

"Tapering has not been discussed," Draghi told reporters after the bank surprised markets by announcing an extension of the asset-purchasing scheme until December 2017, but at a lower pace of 60 billion euros a month from April instead of the current 80 billion.