We have not yet accomplished our mission, and so we must remain patient and persistent. Patience is required for inflationary pressures to show through convincingly in the data. The euro area’s economic environment is improving, and the negative tail risks to inflation expectations, which were clearly visible at the start of our asset purchase programme, have virtually disappeared.
But measured inflation rates are exceedingly volatile and metrics of underlying price pressures remain weak. The entire distribution of inflation expectations still needs to shift a fair distance to the right.