One has to wonder what alternate universe the ECB resides in, for multiple reasons.

Mission Accomplished – Not

Reuters reports ECB making ‘substantial’ inflation progress: Praet.

“We cannot yet declare ‘mission accomplished’ on the inflation front, but we have made substantial progress on the path towards a sustained adjustment in inflation,” Praet, considered a dove on the rate setting Governing Council, said ECB Chief Economist Peter Praet in Paris on Thursday.

Substantial Progress?

The ECB’s target is two percent.

Eurostat reports Euro Area Annual Inflation Down to 1.2%

?

Progress in Pictures

?

ECB Expectations vs Reality

Economist Daniel LaCalle posted an interesting graphic in a Tweet a couple of days ago. I asked him for a higher resolution copy and he sent this.

Alternate Universe Progress

For the last 18 months, the ECB has made negative progress vs its stated goals, even with energy costs soaring.

The second reason the ECB resides in an alternate universe is that there is no benefit from inflation.

No Economic Benefit to Inflation

My Challenge to Keynesians “Prove Rising Prices Provide an Overall Economic Benefit”
 has gone unanswered.

BIS Deflation Study

The BIS did a historical study and found routine deflation was not any problem at all.

“Deflation may actually boost output. Lower prices increase real incomes and wealth. And they may also make export goods more competitive,” stated the study.

It’s asset bubble deflation that is damaging. When asset bubbles burst, debt deflation results.

Central banks’ seriously misguided attempts to defeat routine consumer price deflation is what fuels the destructive asset bubbles that eventually collapse.

For a discussion of the BIS study, please see Historical Perspective on CPI Deflations: How Damaging are They?

ECB and Fed policies have blown massive bubbles, making matters far worse.