Incoming data since this decision reinforce our expectation that net asset purchases should end in the third quarter. Looking ahead, our monetary policy will depend on the incoming data and our evolving assessment of the outlook. Adjustments to the key ECB interest rates will take place “some time after the end of net purchases under the APP”.
However, given the high level of uncertainty, adjustments should be gradual. In my view, we must stay alert with respect to upside risks to price stability over the medium term. There is less and less of a concern that a premature monetary policy normalisation could plunge the economy back into the low inflation setting of the previous years.