Does the euro area forward rate provide accurate forecasts of the short rate?

The forward rate can deliver accurate forecasts of euro area short-term interest rates, depending on the time period. During periods of macroeconomic uncertainty, forecasts obtained from a model of yield and macro factors are more accurate than forward-based forecasts. We provide evidence that a time-varying forward premium explains the variation in the forecasting performance. We develop a method for computing forward premium confidence intervals to identify ex-ante periods during which forward-based forecasts are inaccurate.