The risk of disinflation potentially leading to a
deflation trap or to persistently weak inflation is closely
related to whether monetary policy is perceived to
be effective in ensuring that inflation converges to its
objective once temporary effects fade. At the current
juncture, the ability of central banks to keep inflation
expectations anchored could be challenged by
several factors. First, the scope of monetary policy to
further stimulate demand is perceived to be increasingly
constrained in many advanced economies where
policy rates are not far from their effective lower
bounds. Second, in many countries, the weakness in
inflation to some extent reflects price developments
abroad—in particular substantial slack in tradable
goods–producing sectors in several large economies.