If it continues for a protracted period, however, households will ultimately be forced to bear the burden through economic stagnation. Deflation becomes a factor weighing heavily on the economy through a number of channels.
With the success achieved with these objectives, the focus of the Bank has now shifted to a gradual strengthening of the official foreign exchange reserves. Since the end of 2002 the official foreign exchange reserves of the country have increased from $ billion to $ billion at the end of October 2004.