The European Central Bank gathers for its policy-setting meeting on Thursday and the big question on traders’ mind is when President Mario Draghi & Co. will put an end to its aggressive bond buying program and begin to hike interest rates. At the March 8 meeting, the rate setters took markets by surprise and unexpectedly dropped its pledge to expand the easing program if needed, signaling that they are on track to end the stimulus scheme before the end of the year. However, since the meeting last month, data have pointed to an economic slowdown in the beginning of the year, making the picture murkier for the central bankers. That means traders have dialed back expectations that the ECB will wind up the QE program in September when the asset purchases currently are slated to end. Additionally, markets are no longer pricing in a summer 2019 rate rise, but rather looking toward the end of next year for the first hike. So, what will the ECB do at their upcoming meeting this Thursday? Analysts at ING have compiled this handy chart to outline the four most likely scenarios, for both the policy statement and Draghi’s news conference. via