We have thereby tuned our monetary policy stance to the changing pitch of the recovery – what I have previously termed “accompanying the recovery”.1 During this time, the economy has developed even more strongly than we expected and confidence in the euro area has increased. But it is not because real growth is strong that we can declare the job done.
There is a very clear condition for us to bring net asset purchases to an end: we need to see a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation towards our aim, which is a headline inflation rate of below, but close to 2% over the medium term.