European Central Bank officials are ready to step up bond purchases next month if they consider such a move necessary to combat the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, according to the minutes of their April policy meeting.

The ECB in March unveiled a €750bn ($820bn) bond-buying program to support governments and businesses in the face of plunging economic growth. But the bank surprised some analysts by leaving the program’s size unchanged at its April 29-30 meeting, while sweetening the terms of loans to eurozone banks.