However, attention should still be paid to the downward pressure on prices, as clear signs of a self-sustained recovery in private demand have not yet been observed and wages continue to fall.
The financial markets have been generally stable reflecting ample funds provision by the Bank of Japan, despite the surge in demand for liquidity including seasonal demand for year-end funds and precautionary demand in view of the Year 2000 problem. No significant disruptions have resulted from the millennium date change in financial transactions.