Banka Slovenije hosted a panel entitled Inflation in light of the epidemic: what can we expect?

Amid a strong economic recovery, the question of rising consumer price inflation is increasingly coming to the fore. In Slovenia and in the euro area overall consumer inflation is currently above the ECB’s target of 2%, although the prevailing expert judgment is that after gradually rising up to the end of this year, inflation will start easing off next year. This year’s price rises are to a considerable extent being driven by temporary factors, but the risk of future rises nevertheless remains pronounced.

Banka Slovenije addressed this relevant topic during a brief panel discussion, at which participants exchanged views regarding the current situation and future challenges in this area. In their introductions, Boštjan Vasle, Governor of Banka Slovenije, and Tina Žumer, a vice-governor of Banka Slovenije, presented key basic facts about the current factors affecting inflation and the risks accompanying the current forecasts of price developments over the medium term, as well as elements of the ECB’s new monetary policy strategy.

The central element of the event was a roundtable involving Arjana Brezigar Masten, director of Banka Slovenije’s Analysis and Research Department, who also moderated the panel, Maja Bednaš, director of the Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development, Andrej Božič, deputy-president of the Managers’ Association of Slovenia, Marko Pahor, a professor at the University of Ljubljana’s School of Economics and Business, and Tomaž Smrekar, director of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia.

The entire discussion was recorded, and can be viewed online (in Slovene only).