The problems associated with intervention in the government bond markets are even more diverse and serious, which is also why central banks should steer clear of lending to sovereigns. It is for this reason that Article 123 places strict constraints on the Eurosystem by banning the monetary financing of governments.
The low inflation is to a large extent the result of commodity and energy price declines and of price reductions initiated by the government. In the past year, these factors were responsible for a 1.7 percentage point decline in the CPI, such that the CPI excluding these factors increased by 0.8 percent.