Central Bank governor says inflation fears are 'overstated'

Consumer prices in Ireland jumped 2.8% in August, the largest increase in nearly a decade

Gabriel Makhlouf's comments come as eurozone inflation accelerated to a 10-year high in August, as the global recovery pushed energy prices even higher. File picture: Vivek Prakash/Bloomberg

Fears of excessive euro area inflation are overstated and the current price pressures reflect transitory factors that will fade out over time, the governor of the Central Bank said.

However, Gabriel Makhlouf said there was considerable uncertainty about the persistence of price pressures. The governor made his comments in an address to the DEW Annual Economic Policy Conference on Friday.