September headline inflation, at 2.6%, is above the ECB’s 2% target ­– as is the latest forecast for 2006 inflation (updated forecasts will be released at the beginning of December). “The period of wage moderation may be coming to an end,” warns Otmar Issing, the ECB’s chief economist, implying that soaring energy prices may now be feeding through into the overall price level (so-called “second-round effects”).