A counter-cyclical fiscal policy also helped reinforce the credibility of the choice of monetary policy regime, since unemployment in this period was lower than would otherwise have been the case. 1  BIS Review 67/2000  •  In December 1992, the fixed exchange rate system had to be abandoned following a sustained period of unrest and extensive speculation in European exchange markets. After this the krone remained stable for several years without any significant changes to Norges Bank’s policy response pattern. The stability of the krone during this period was largely due to the Norwegian economy entering a period of balanced growth. Fiscal policy was well suited to economic developments, while wage inflation was moderate and oil prices were relatively stable. The monetary policy instruments merely accompanied these developments. Chart 2 Daily variation in the krone exchange rate  NOK per ECU/EUR  Daily variation in the krone exchange rates against ECU/EUR. Percent  •  From late 1996 the krone became less stable: the value of the krone fluctuated substantially, despite more active use of monetary policy instruments to dampen the fluctuations. This period saw high levels of economic activity in Norway, coupled with marked cost inflation. This coincided with considerable fluctuations in oil revenues and turbulence in international financial markets, which had a contagion effect on the krone. Developments since the end of 1996 indicate that the exchange rate is no longer ideally suited as an operational short-term objective for monetary policy.
Ardian Fullani: Recent economic and financial developments in Albania Speech by Mr Ardian Fullani, Governor of the Bank of Albania, at the press conference on monetary policy decision of the Supervisory Council of the Bank of Albania, Tirana, 27 January 2010. *  *  *  The Supervisory Council of the Bank of Albania, in its meeting of January 27, 2010, dwelt with the Monetary Policy Statement for the second half of 2009, analysing in detail the performance of monetary and economic indicators for the second half of 2009, as well as the macroeconomic projections and the balance of risks that may associate them in the coming month. At the end of the analysis, the Supervisory Council of the Bank of Albania decided to keep unchanged the key interest rate of repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements, at 5.25 percent. The Supervisory Council assessed that this interest rate is in line with Bank of Albania’s goal to keep inflation close to the medium-term target. *** The Albanian economy has just left behind a difficult year. The deep global economic crisis was soon felt even in Albania, testing the foundations of the economy: the financial stability and the macroeconomic balances. However, the good initial state of our economy and the proper response of macroeconomic policies helped to successfully cope with this test.