On 30 December 1998 we released to the public the first of the monthly statements on recent monetary developments in the euro area. The 12-month growth rate of the broad monetary aggregate M3 decreased from 5.0% in October to 4.5% in November 1998. The latest three-month moving average of M3 growth (September to November 1998) was approximately 4.7%.
This result was similar to the value estimated for the three-month period of August to October 1998 (which was revised upwards from the figure of 4.5% published on 14 December 1998) and remains very close to the reference value of 4.5% set by the Governing Council on 1 December 1998.