Prices for Norwegian exports, such as oil, gas, metals, minerals and fish, rose markedly, while prices for imported goods fell. In the seven years leading up to the financial crisis, the volume of mainland GDP expanded at an average annual rate of 3.4 per cent. Exactly ten years ago today, Norges Bank was charged with the task of setting the interest rate with a view to keeping inflation low and stable. At the same time, new fiscal policy guidelines, also known as the fiscal rule, were implemented, charting a course for petroleum revenue spending. Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, which is now called the Government Pension Fund Global, was designed to prevent fluctuations in oil prices from feeding through to the mainland economy. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  A decade of inflation targeting The inflation target for monetary policy provides a sound anchor for inflation expectations. Over the past decade, CPI inflation has varied to some extent. Underlying inflation has naturally been more stable, but has been both higher and lower than the target. If we look at the ten-year period as a whole, inflation has been 2 per cent, that is to say close to the target. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  Still, over the past ten years, the conduct of monetary policy has been tested. During this period, we have gained insight into the functioning of the Norwegian economy under an inflation-targeting regime. Let me touch upon some of these insights.
Thomas Jordan: The Swiss National Bank’s monetary policy decision and assessment of the economic situation Introductory remarks by Mr Thomas Jordan, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, at the Media News Conference of the Swiss National Bank, Berne, 10 December 2015. *  *  *  Ladies and gentlemen It is a pleasure for me to welcome you to the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) news conference. I will begin by explaining our monetary policy decision and presenting our assessment of the economic situation. Fritz Zurbrügg will then speak about current developments in the area of financial stability. After that, Andréa Maechler will review the situation on the financial markets. Finally, we will – as usual – be pleased to take your questions. Monetary policy decision Let me begin with the inflation forecast and our monetary policy decision. Overall, the new conditional inflation forecast differs little from that of September. It indicates slightly higher inflation in the short term, and that inflation had already bottomed out in the third quarter. Owing to a slight deterioration in the outlook for the global economy, mediumterm inflation is somewhat lower than predicted in September. For the current year, inflation is forecast at –1.1%, a 0.1 percentage point rise on last quarter. For 2016, we still anticipate an inflation rate of –0.5%, and for 2017, the forecast is now at 0.3% instead of 0.4%.