Since the inception of the euro the Governing Council has broadly fulfilled this mandate since the growth rate of the euro area harmonised index of consumer prices has been on average 2.07%. This clear objective, together with the ECB’s track record, has firmly anchored inflation expectations in the euro area.
Since 1999, the average inflation expectation by professional forecasters at a five year horizon has been on average 1.91%. In our framework, inflation is obviously an indicator of pre-eminent policy relevance. But it is not the only one.