4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  At this stage there are no discernible inflationary pressures coming from the demand side of the economy, the output gap remains negative and there are tentative signs that the momentum in consumer demand may be levelling off.
Particularly in a monetary union made up of fiscally sovereign states, this risk is of major significance and must not be underestimated, in my view. As I see it, therefore, government bond purchases should be reserved for exceptional situations. The pandemic is just such an exceptional situation.