This assessment encompasses a wide range of indicator variables, including macroeconomic projections produced both within and outside the Eurosystem. Using the information obtained from this analysis, the Governing Council of the ECB comes to a decision on the level of short-term interest rates that will best serve the maintenance of price stability in the euro area as a whole in the future.
The decision of 4 November to raise the ECB interest rates demonstrates the forward-looking character of our strategy. Owing to the lags in the transmission mechanism, our monetary policy could not wait until inflation stood at 2% or above.