European Central Bank

After announcing the end of its Asset Purchase Program in June, the raised its key interest rate by a larger-than-expected 50 basis points in July —the first increase in 11 years and the biggest since 2000— bringing its deposit rate to zero in an effort to tackle then-record eurozone inflation of 8.6%. The ECB increased its deposit rates to 2.0% in December with a total of four rate hikes.

• Record highs: Inflation in the eurozone went ahead and hit 10.6% annually in October, hitting double digits for the first time in the currency's history. The exchange rate between the euro and the US dollar has reached parity for the first time in 20 years as well, as EUR/USD hit 1.0000 in July.
• The great foresight: ECB boss Christine Lagarde said in January that inflation in the eurozone will gradually decrease over the year as surging energy prices and supply bottlenecks are expected to ease. Lagarde noted at that time that ECB policymakers did not need to act as boldly as their US Federal Reserve counterparts because of the differences in economic situations.