By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

LONDON, England - May 17, 2010 - The Bank of New York Mellon said its custodial data showed a "sharp acceleration" of net sales of debt from the two countries after the European Central Bank (ECB) began purchasing €16.5 billion of bonds from southern Europe and Ireland in bid to halt market panic. "It rather suggests that investors leapt at the opportunity to clear their balance sheets of intolerable risk," said Neil Mellor, the bank’s currency strategist. "This leaves the ECB itself in an unpleasant situation since it now faces a deterioration in its own balance sheet."

While ECB action has greatly reduced bond spreads on peripheral eurozone debt, it has not yet stabilized the broader markets. The euro fell to a four-year low of $1.2260 against the dollar in early trading. Jean-Claude Juncker, the head of the Eurogroup, said on Monday that this risks becoming disorderly. "I'm not worried as far as the current exchange rate is concerned: I'm worried as far as the rapidity of the fall is concerned."

Crucially, there are still serious strains in the interbank lending market. Hans Redeker, currency chief at BNP Paribas, said the LIBOR-OIS spread in Europe used to gauge credit stress is flashing danger signals, hovering near levels seen during the Lehman crisis.

The ECB’s strategy of draining liquidity to offset the stimulus from the bond purchases risks making matters worse. "They are using one-week deposits for sterilisation and the effects of this to make short-term funding more expensive. This will force banks to sell assets to shrink their balance sheet and risks causing a credit crunch," he said.