BIS central bankers’ speeches  7  It is true that inflation in the euro area has been very low for quite some time now, and the outlook for inflation is weak. However, the low level of inflation is mainly due to sharply falling energy prices, notably the plummeting oil price. This should not be confused with a selfreinforcing deflation and its negative consequences.
The Bank therefore decided to double the monetary base in two years, and to achieve this it decided to massively purchase Japanese government bonds (JGBs), including those with longer remaining maturities. So far, the Bank has been pursuing the decided provision of the monetary base, and the year-on-year rate of increase in the monetary base was about 55 percent in February.