The ultimate goal of the international monetary system (hereafter: IMS) is to maintain an orderly system of payments among nations. To this aim, the IMS has to provide the services of an international currency, ensure adequate creation of global liquidity, define an exchange rate regime among national currencies and include an adjustment mechanism to avoid excessive external real and financial imbalances across nations.
Oil prices continued to increase further in September and, given the relatively short time of pass-through to consumer prices, expectations of further increases in the overall HICP rate in the coming months have become firmer. In conclusion, monetary and credit developments indicate that continuous close attention must be given to upward risks to price stability.