“I know it’s complicated.” That was European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde’s response to a question on the policy outlook earlier this month. Lagarde isn’t the only central bank chief signalling the complex road ahead as their institutions embark on the “last mile” of the battle against high inflation.
At last month’s Jackson Hole conference of central bankers, Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell concluded his speech by stating that “we are navigating by the stars under cloudy skies”. skies”. On Wednesday, he stated six times the need to “proceed carefully.”