Otmar Issing Quotations

Rising oil prices are not only affecting current inflation rates but they're also overshadowing next year, ... It can't be ruled out that risks for price developments will deteriorate that much over the medium term that we might have to expect the annual inflation rate to slightly exceed 2 percent.

We've got to stop a wage-price spiral coming after the oil price shock. But so far we haven't seen such second-round effects,

Quarterly figures are very volatile and susceptible to revision, particularly at the turn of the year.

Economic activity in the first quarter clearly picked up from the previous quarter and the trend that was reached should more or less hold in the second quarter. However, that means that the expected acceleration did not occur.

According to all criteria, our monetary policy by no means is too restrictive, ... The danger of an overreaction of the ECB certainly does not exist. We always act on the basis of thorough considerations.

Inflation has come down, it's true, but in all likelihood it will rise again.

If we were to conduct our projection now, the assumption would be for higher oil prices than in the March projection.

A regime of fixed foreign-exchange rates and obligations to intervene would encroach upon the statute of the ECB and the priority of price stability,

Should central banks simply look on when asset bubbles are forming? Should they only launch 'rescue missions' when the bubble has burst of its own accord?