ECB Economic Bulletin: An ample degree of monetary accommodation is still needed

The European Central Bank recently published its Economic Bulletin, which presents the economic and monetary information which forms the basis for the Governing Council's policy decisions.

Key highlights

An ample degree of monetary accommodation is still needed to secure a return of inflation towards levels that are below, but close to, 2%.

The Governing Council assessed that the strong cyclical momentum and the significant reduction of economic slack give grounds for greater confidence that inflation will converge towards its aim.

At the same time, domestic price pressures remain muted overall and have yet to show convincing signs of a sustained upward trend.

The Governing Council’s economic assessment reflected that the euro area economic expansion continues to be solid and broad-based across countries and sectors.

Financing conditions in the euro area have remained very favourable.

Underlying inflation is expected to rise gradually over the medium term, supported by the ECB’s monetary policy measures, the continuing economic expansion, the corresponding absorption of economic slack and rising wage growth.