Dutch Central Bank President: Inflation "Not Dead" in Europe

Dutch Central Bank President Klaas Knot said in an interview published Sunday in NRC Handelsblad that rising inflation in Europe may not be temporary.

Knott, who is known as one of the more hawkish members of the European Central Bank (ECB), said that "Inflation is not dead in Europe".

"We should not overestimate our ability to determine what is temporary inflation and what is not," he added.

Meantime, ECB is forecasting 1.9% inflation in 2021 due temporary factors, namely the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. In 2022, the bank expects inflation to fall to 1.5%, near its long-term inflation target of 2%.

“We will see if we are able to tighten the straps of monetary policy as hard as we have been able to loosen them over the past 10 years,” Knott concluded.