Powell, J. H., "Monetary Policy in the Time of COVID," speech at "Macroeconomic Policy in an Uneven Economy," a symposium sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, August 27, 2021, https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/powell20210827a.htm. 6  have intensified. The European Central Bank (ECB) faces a difficult dilemma of curbing inflation or supporting the economy.
Although the ECB has focused so far on supporting the economy and put off raising interest rates, ECB President Lagarde has signaled that interest rates will be raised by the end of the July-September quarter as the second-round effects of inflation have started to be seen on wages and inflation expectations recently.