Ecb slams ‘oil shock’ mistakes
The head of ECB has warned that the global financial crisis is far from over…
ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet compared the current problems with the oil crisis of the mid-1970s and suggested that if central banks allow inflation to run out of control it could lead to mass unemployment.
He said: "These are demanding times, challenging times. We have this accumulation of the oil shock and the food and agro-products shock. Banks must take care not to trigger the second-round effects of spiralling inflation and unemployment.
"In the first oil shock, we took the wrong decisions and embarked on second-round effects and tried a high level of inflation for a long period of time. We created by our own absence of lucidity mass unemployment in
"Price stability, and credibility in price stability, in the medium term, is the best way to have a high level of sustainable growth and sustainable job creation."