Klaas Knot: Back to the future - euro area inflation outlook is back on track

Speech (virtually) by Mr Klaas Knot, President of the Netherlands Bank, at the Euro50 Group meeting "Coping with the legacy of the Covid-19 crisis", Washington, 14 October 2021.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Central bank speech  | 
29 December 2021

Exactly one year ago, on October 14th 2020, the Dutch authorities announced a partial nationwide lockdown. Today, the Netherlands is gradually loosening Covid-related restrictions.

Exactly one year ago, chief U.S. medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, said that people might have to cancel Thanksgiving. Today, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention offers a list of tips so people can celebrate Thanksgiving safely.

From a global economic perspective, the pandemic put forceful downward pressure on both inflation and inflation expectations. But today, and for a few months now, we see rising inflation and inflation expectations.

One of the most widely debated topics in financial markets, is how the inflation path will evolve further.