This means responding to weak domestic price pressures but also continuing along the path of normalisation and not prolonging it unnecessarily, the inflationary outlook permitting. An extremely accommodative monetary policy stance cannot be allowed to go on forever, not least as it entails risks and side-effects.
•  It also increased the number and frequency of longer-term refinancing operations, conducting three additional refinancing operations per month – two with a maturity of three months and one with a maturity of six months – and introducing a special-term refinancing operation with a maturity corresponding to the duration of the reserve maintenance period.