ECB's Panetta: Monetary policy should be data-backed
Member of the European Central Bank (ECB) Executive Board Fabio Panetta (pictured left) remarked on Wednesday that the institution's monetary policy should be "data-dependent and adaptable" to bring inflation to its target of 2%.
Speaking at the ECB and its Watchers XXIII Conference in Frankfurt, Panetta noted it means the bank should "avoid pre-committing to any specific policy path." The policymaker said the expectations for the Eurozone's medium-term inflation remain "anchored at our target." He stressed the current data indicates inflation will "gradually fall to around 3% by the end of 2023 and around 2% by the middle of 2025."
Still, Panetta warned that "it may be some time yet before we see volatility in activity and prices subside, and a new equilibrium settles in." "We need to adapt our policies to the overlapping effects of the shocks, to geopolitical developments, to the risk of financial amplification and to spillovers from other jurisdictions," he pointed out.