There were some tentative signs that total manufacturing production may have started with a new expansionary phase in the fourth quarter of last year when a seasonally adjusted annualised decline of 1 per cent in the third quarter switched to a 2 per cent expansion in the fourth quarter.
However, by ensuring the preservation of price stability in the euro area as a whole, it can help guide and anchor inflation expectations to price stability in all euro area countries and thus help consumers and firms to take appropriate economic decisions.