BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Policymakers would have to study the impact of the factors behind the recent inflation surge, going forward, European Central Bank Executive Board member Peter Praet said Thursday.
Speaking at an event in London, Praet said, 'Recently, with the fading of the declines in energy prices that restrained inflation, headline inflation has moved up quite sharply.'
Inflation had held well below the ECB's target of 'below, but close to 2 percent' since early 2013.
'In the near future, we will have to assess how the forces that are driving prices today can influence the outlook for price stability in the medium term and help durably stabilize inflation around our goal,' Praet, who is the ECB chief economist, said.
The bank expects the currently firming, broadening and more resilient economic recovery to translate into a durable increase in inflation in the future.
That said, Praet pointed out that one of the main forces behind the expected upward inflation trajectory is monetary policy itself.
'The economic recovery and the outlook for price stability are still predicated on the very favorable financing conditions that to a large extent depend on continued monetary policy support,' the policymaker said.
'Therefore, we need to look through the volatility in short-term data resulting from transitory factors in order to assess whether progress towards a durable and self-sustaining convergence in the path of inflation has been sufficient.'
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