Davos, Lagarde: ‘Many figures on growth, but we need to distinguish signals from noise’

Frankfurt (Germany), 23 January. (LaPresse) – ‘Our duty, as central bankers and economists, is to distinguish the signals from the noise.’ This was stated by ECB President Christine Lagarde, speaking at the closing panel of the World Economic Forum in Davos, emphasising the need to focus on real data and not be confused by contradictory information. ‘We have had a lot of confusion this week, it has been an extremely interesting and stimulating week, but our job is to separate what really matters from the noise,’ Lagarde added, highlighting the importance of correctly interpreting macroeconomic figures. The ECB President pointed out that “when you hear high growth rates, most of them are nominal figures. To know the real growth, you have to deflate them for inflation,‘ explaining that this is the only way to obtain reliable values on which to base political and economic decisions. ’We must be honest about the numbers we use, rely on our teams’ forecasts and communicate clearly,” Lagarde concluded, reiterating the importance of a transparent and rigorous approach to understanding the true global economic situation.