Directions: Read the given passage carefully and answer the question that follows.

The Monetary Authority of Eldoria (MAE) has faced persistent inflationary pressures, with consumer price growth staying above its upper target limit of 6% for three consecutive quarters. During its recent policy review, the central bank's governing board opted to maintain key interest rates at present levels, reaffirming an accommodative posture focused on gradually withdrawing excess liquidity to bring inflation back within the desired band while supporting fragile economic growth. The primary mandate of the central bank remains the preservation of domestic price stability.

However, macro-economic realities present complex challenges. Inflationary spikes stem largely from global supply chain disruptions and volatile international commodity prices, making conventional benchmark rate hikes less effective on their own. To address structural liquidity without disturbing baseline policy rates, the MAE launched a new standing liquidity facility (SLF) serving as an uncollateralized floor rate within its operational corridor. Financial analysts praised this mechanical adjustment as a strategic mechanism to soak up surplus banking capital without triggering immediate rate-hike shocks.

Despite these tactical adjustments, critics argue that the central bank was slow to acknowledge inflationary trends. Earlier in the fiscal year, the regulator projected annual inflation at a modest 4.5%, a figure that was soon revised upward to 5.7% as price pressures broadened. Furthermore, the MAE's prolonged efforts to suppress sovereign bond yields—aimed at minimizing government borrowing costs during massive fiscal expansion—resulted in depressed real returns for fixed-income savers across the nation.

With household inflation expectations reaching 11% while bank deposit rates linger near 5%, real yields remain sharply negative. This disparity has fueled asset price inflation, widening the socio-economic divide as wealthy asset owners profit while low-income households struggle with rising living costs. Nevertheless, the MAE has begun tightening measures by halting asset purchase programs and allowing money market rates to adjust upward. Although high public debt and fiscal deficits remain, policymakers hope private investment will step in to restart real GDP growth, which has stagnated over the past two years despite compounding inflation.

Which of the following words is most nearly the opposite in meaning to the word “modest” as used in the passage?