In the field of the international representation of the ECB, some decisions are still under consideration. Formal and informal agreements have already been reached with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and in the context of the G7 and the G10. At the end of last year the IMF granted the ECB the status of observer.
This is not to say that useful steps could not be taken to improve the transparency and functioning of  2  The dominant role of commodity prices in driving the recent increase in inflation can be seen by contrasting the overall inflation rate with the so-called core measure of inflation, which excludes food and energy prices.