ECB Executive Board member Fabio Panetta said in a speech, “the very shocks that have led to a surge in inflation (in Eurozone) are also depressing output”. Hence, “the inflation path is starting from a much higher point but the medium-term inflation outlook is characterised by high uncertainty.” Policy normalization needs to be “clearly defined”.
Panetta explained that normalization does not mean moving to a “neutral” policy stance. it shouldn’t be assessed against “unobservable reference points” such as neutral rate. And, it “does not imply adjusting unconventional instruments more rapidly than conventional ones”.
Normalization is “a process of gradually reducing that stimulus in a way that firmly anchors the inflation path at 2% over the medium term”, he said.
