KOF Monetary Policy Communicator for the Euro Area
The KOF MPC figure for 26 July 2018 is 0.53. The ECB confirmed its confidence that the sustained convergence of inflation towards the inflation aim will continue in the period ahead and will be maintained even after a gradual winding-down of net asset purchases.
At today’s meeting, the ECB’s Governing Council decided to keep all key ECB interest rates unchanged.
According to Eurostat, euro area annual HICP inflation increased to 2.0 per cent in June 2018, from 1.9 per cent in May, reflecting mainly higher energy and food price inflation. Inflation is expected to hover around the current level for the rest of the year. Measures of underlying inflation have been increasing from earlier lows and are expected to pick up further towards the end of the year and thereafter to increase gradually over the medium term. The Governing Council continues to monitor the risk of increased protectionism and of persistent heightened financial market volatility.
Current ECB holdings of securities for monetary policy purposes amount to 2,568bn euros (beginning of June: 2,523bn euros).