Central banks are winning the battle against inflation. But the war is just getting started

The trajectory of inflation has not given central bankers much cause for celebration in recent years. But at the European Central Bank’s annual jamboree in Sintra, Portugal, this week, a touch of self-congratulation has been in the air. “I know it sounds a little bit arrogant,” confessed Christine Lagarde, the ECB’s president, on July 1st, but the unwinding of high inflation “is remarkable”. “We’ve made a lot of progress,” said Jerome Powell, the chairman of America’s Federal Reserve, the next day. Others agree. “Central banks have risen to the challenge” of high inflation, commends the Bank for International Settlements.