REFILE-Euro future inflation gauge at 2% for first time since 2014

(Refiles to fix dateline to Oct 22, no changes to text)

Oct 22 (Reuters) - A key market gauge of euro zone inflation expectations rose to 2%, the ECB's inflation target, for the first time since September 2014 on Friday.

The five-year, five-year breakeven inflation forward has risen from just under 1.30% at the start of the year, driven by recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and elevated current inflation readings spurred on by supply bottlenecks and high energy prices.

The move be a likely focus point for the European Central Bank, which tracks the gauge.

After undershooting its inflation target of "close to, but below 2%" for years, the ECB adopted a 2%, symmetrical inflation target in July that will make undershoots and overshoots equally undesirable and will allow it to tolerate inflation overshoots temporarily.

While current euro zone inflation is far above target at a 13-year high, the ECB still upholds that decade-high inflation in the bloc will be transitory, but policymakers are becoming more vocal that there are risks inflation may remain elevated for longer than expected. (Reporting by Yoruk Bahceli, editing by Abhinav Ramnarayan)