Monetary policy must stay focused on price stability Fiscal policy is hence at risk of contributing to inflation at a time when price pressures remain unabated. Inflation in the euro area has continued to surprise on the upside, and significantly so. While fears of a technical recession have increased, economic data surprises have recently also turned positive (Slide 13, left-hand side).
No matter how hard we try to see the future, it is uncertain. Protection could never be bought unless there were economic agents that were willing to speculate and take the other side of the transaction. This does not necessarily mean that all futures trading must be underpinned by an actual need for protection.