Central banks should generally avoid using monetary policy to ‘lean against the wind' as the short-term costs tend to exceed the longer-term benefits, according to an International Monetary Fund staff report published on September 21.

The report – approved by José Viñals, Olivier Blanchard and Siddharth Tiwari – says the case for using interest rates to address financial risks is "limited" on current evidence, but argues the door "should remain open" as policy-makers learn more.

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