Will focus reinvestments on highdebt members
To devise new tool
Markets disappointed
Lagarde to speak at 1620 GMT

FRANKFURTMILAN, June 15 Reuters The European Central Bank promised fresh support on Wednesday to temper a market rout that has fanned fears of a new debt crisis on the euro area39;s southern rim but appears to have disappointed investors looking for bolder steps.

Government borrowing costs have soared on the 19country currency bloc39;s periphery since the ECB unveiled plans last Thursday to raise interest rates to tame painfully high inflation that is at risk of becoming entrenched.

The selloff was then exacerbated by the ECB39;s vague commitment to limit the rise in borrowing costs, raising fears that policymakers were abandoning more indebted nations, such as Italy, Spain and Greece.

Keen to avoid the repeat of the debt crisis that almost brought down the single currency a decade ago, the ECB reversed course just six days later, unveiling plans for a new support scheme and directing cash from debt maturing in a recentlyended 1.7 trillion euro 1.8 trillion pandemic support scheme towards indebted nations.

The Governing Council decided to mandate the relevant Eurosystem Committees together with the ECB services to accelerate the completion of the design of a new antifragmentation instrument for consideration by the Governing Council, the ECB said after an extraordinary meeting.

Speaking at a conference on Wednesday, Dutch central bank chief Klaas…