Frankfurt, 05/01/2000 (Agence Europe) - At the end of the first session of the year of the steering bodies of the European Central Bank (ECB), the bank's president, Mr Wim Duisenberg, welcomed the fact that over the past few days the euro has no longer been at a 1: 1 parity with the dollar. "We are not surprised as this is what we predicted", he said, repeating that the euro had a strong potential for appreciation. This forecast, said Mr Duisenberg, seems to be coming true.
On Wednesday afternoon, the euro stood at $1.0385 on the London market as opposed to $1.0366 at the beginning of the day (on 3 December 1999 it was very briefly quoted below 1). After having confirmed that the European and American monetary authorities are closely and constantly following the evolution of the three main world currencies (euro, dollar, yen), Mr Duisenberg said: "for us, at the ECB, the developments noted do not encourage us to change our attitude or our monetary policy". He went on to add: "Our task is to remain vigilant and to closely observe the economic developments and to take monetary policy decisions at an early stage and when the need is felt. We have done this in the past, and today is not the moment to intervene". The ECB continues to count on a rate of inflation of 1.5% this year for the euro zone, despite pressure on the prices expected in coming months.
Brussels, 05/01/2000 (Agence Europe) - Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders announced that the budgetary deficit for the year 1999 fell to 0.9% of GNP, which is an important step towards the aims of the European Pact for Stability and Growth, and allows a deficit of 0.8% (instead of the 1% forecast earlier) for the year 2000.