4  BIS Review 96/2001  remarkably stable, despite the presumption that the September 11 shock would disproportionately affect the United States relative to our trading partners. Auto sales soared to record levels in October, prompted, to be sure, by zero-interest rate financing.
The latter resulted from central bank incentives and led to a significant monetary absorption over the last years. We have also been working to deepen the repo market and to empower its interest rate as a reference policy tool. We have been gradually but persistently hiking this rate.