26 To this end, the new statement conveys the Committee’s judgment that, in order to anchor expectations at 2 percent, it “seeks to achieve inflation that averages 2 percent over time,” and—in the same sentence—that therefore “following periods when inflation has been running persistently below 2 percent, appropriate monetary policy will likely aim to achieve inflation moderately above 2 percent for some time.” This is the second robust evolution of our framework, and it reflects the inherent asymmetry of conducting monetary policy in a low r* world with an ELB constraint that binds in economic downturns.
The exchange rate against the US dollar has come down from 77.7 US cents to 70.3 US cents; against the trade-weighted index, it has come down from 60.2 to 57.0. I come now to the point where I should say a few things about what has been happening in Asia and the rest of the world.