The ECB still has work to do to bring inflation back to 2% in a timely manner, bank vice president Luis de Guindos said in speech Friday, although he highlighted that, despite ongoing uncertainty over the outlook, underlying inflation is now clearly on a downward path.

Underlying price pressures remain strong, he said, but most indicators have started to show some signs of softening, while the range of measures has begun to narrow.

“This suggests that the unusually high level of uncertainty around the downward trajectory of inflation over the medium term has started to ease somewhat. A closer look at some of these indicators however, reveals that some are levelling off only recently.”

De Guindos’ remarks contrast with those of Bundesbank boss Joachim Nagel, who earlier this week highlighted uncertainty over the inflation outlook and identified a number of factors that could lead to further price rises.