Evidence on the side-effects of unconventional monetary policy is emerging slowly and is sometimes inconclusive. What is certain is that the use of unconventional policy puts the spotlight on the central bank. First, there are implementation questions around the selection of tools and their use.
Reflecting such developments in final demand and continued progress in inventory adjustment, industrial production is turning to an increase. Against this background, corporate and consumer sentiment has seen an improvement. The improvement in corporate sentiment, however, has not necessarily stimulated business activities, because firms strongly feel that they have excess capacity and employees and their profits remain weak.