But rather than being a direct outcome of the crisis, this decline may rather reflect a continuation of a more secular trend rooted in the gradual waning of the IT-related productivity boom that started in the 1990s and extended into the early 2000s.
  Reflecting all of these factors, the Bank yesterday maintained the target for the overnight rate at 1 per cent. In light of the reduced slack in the economy and firmer underlying inflation, some modest withdrawal of the present considerable monetary policy stimulus may become appropriate, consistent with achieving the 2 per cent inflation target over the medium term.