Looking at movements by major region, the U.S. economy has continued to recover, assisted by household spending, although adjustments have been seen in the industrial production sector, mainly on the back of the decline in crude oil prices and the appreciation of the U.S. dollar. The European economy has been on a moderate recovery trend.
We must all commit to work on the roadmap towards the introduction of the single currency, be it in the areas of harmonization of convergence criteria, or harmonization of the regulatory and supervisory framework for banking and other financial institutions, or harmonization of monetary policy frameworks, payments system infrastructure, trade liberalisation, exchange rate stabilisation, capital account liberalisation, or integration of financial markets in the zone, etc.