HELSINKI — The European Central Bank should fight high and low inflation with equal vigour, Finnish central bank chief Erkki Liikanen said on Thursday, suggesting he had little tolerance for any eventual inflation overshoot. Liikanen's comments are in contrast with arguments from some policy doves who say that after a lengthy period of low inflation, the ECB could accept a modest target overshoot as it should take a longer view and make up for 'lost' inflation. Indeed, the ECB has undershot its almost 2 percent inflation objective for nearly five years and will continue to miss at least until the end of the decade, its September staff projections show. "The ECB's policy target is symmetrical," Liikanen, who sits on the ECB's rate setting Governing Council, said in prepared remarks for a news conference. "It is of equal importance to act effectively on inflation levels that are above or below the price stability objective."

Source: New York Times September 28, 2017 08:03 UTC