On the price front, the year-on-year rate of increase in the CPI excluding fresh food has been widening across an increasing number of items, having registered 1.3 percent in December 2013. The CPI excluding food and energy has also been improving, with its rate of increase having registered 0.7 percent in December 2013.
The monetary policy strategy of the ECB can be seen in this light. It involves three key elements. First, there is the objective of price stability which the ECB defines as a year-onyear increase in consumer prices for the euro area of “below, but close to, 2 per cent”.