ECB’s Stournaras: High Inflation Temporary; Must Assess With Caution

1 September 2021

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Currently high euro area inflation is a temporary phenomenon and the European Central Bank should thus exercise caution, ECB Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras said Wednesday.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Stournaras, who heads the Bank of Greece, argued that ‘[a]ccording to most estimates, the recent jump in inflation is due to temporary factors related to various supply-side bottlenecks caused by the pandemic.’

‘Wage developments and unit labour costs, which determine the core of inflation, do not show the same volatility as headline inflation’, he said.

‘On this evidence, I would advise caution regarding the course of inflation relative to our medium-term target’, he added.