Economics

ECB Goes Its Own Way in Mission to Revive Inflation

Officials prefer 2% medium-term goal to Fed’s average target

Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg
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The European Central Bank’s quest for faster inflation is taking shape as it enters the next phase of its Federal Reserve-style strategic overhaul.

One thing looks clear already — like their U.S. peers, policy makers are willing to temporarily tolerate price growth faster than their goal after periods of weakness. Yet they have no intention of simply copying the Fed, which concluded its own review this summer by agreeing to target an average rate of inflation.