(Reuters) - Irish central bank chief Gabriel Makhlouf called for the cost of housing to be given more weight in the way inflation is calculated in the euro zone, according to the Financial Times. According to Makhlouf, housing costs, at least in Ireland, are the main issue in creating a gulf between public perceptions of price rises versus the official inflation data, the FT said https://www.ft.com/content/86bdebac-5a1e-11ea-abe5-8e03987b7b20. "If people's reality (of inflation) is different to the one that we assert then we have got a problem," Makhlouf, who sits on the European Central Bank's rate-setting Governing Council, told the newspaper. A lack of affordable housing and sky-high rents were central issues in Ireland's national election in February, which saw the left-wing Sinn Fein party win the most votes.

Source: International New York Times March 01, 2020 12:33 UTC