Of course, central bankers should and do welcome the opportunity to help sustain the real economy and employment – even if the sustenance provided is only temporary. However, we must not raise expectations that the short-term impact of necessary monetary policy actions on real activity will always be favourable.
Situations will certainly arise when monetary policy does face a short-term trade-off between adverse developments in real activity on the one hand and deviations from price stability on the other. In such a situation, the overriding priority accorded to maintaining price stability must be made absolutely clear.