In this respect, the stance of the Eurosystem, consisting of the European Central Bank and the national central banks of the euro area, is based on two basic principles. First, since the internationalisation of the euro is mainly a market-driven process, the Eurosystem adopts a neutral stance, neither fostering nor hindering the international use of its currency.
On the price front, domestic corporate goods prices have been increasing mainly reflecting the effects of high crude oil prices, and this uptrend is expected to continue. Consumer prices (excluding fresh food, on a nationwide basis) have been declining slightly on a year-on-year basis partly due to the reduction in electricity and telephone charges against the background of such factors as deregulation.