Lagarde: Dollar is being watched closely

Emphasizing that the ECB does not have an exchange rate target, Lagarde said, “Obviously, we are monitoring the changes in exchange rates and we are very careful about them and we are particularly carefully monitoring the appreciation of the dollar.” European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said that inflation expectations should remain stable and that they should return inflation to the target. Warning that the outlook will remain uncertain for a while, Lagarde stated that the strengthening of the dollar has less impact on the Eurozone compared to emerging economies. Lagarde said, “Given this exceptional uncertainty, what we central bankers need to do is implement a monetary policy that stabilizes expectations so that these expectations remain tied to the target.” Emphasizing that the ECB does not have an exchange rate target, Lagarde said, “Obviously, we are monitoring the changes in exchange rates and we are very careful about them and we are particularly carefully monitoring the appreciation of the dollar.” Although the Bloomberg Dollar Index has decreased in recent days, it has increased by 7 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Euro/Dollar has decreased by nearly 7.5 percent.