of these goods were almost 3½ percent lower than in july 2001 across the euro area. telephone calls have also become cheaper over this period. in other areas where competition is strong there were also price reductions associated with the euro. overall, it does not appear that the cash changeover has been a major factor in the overall development of euro area consumer prices. eurostat, the official statistical agency of the eu, has estimated a cash changeover effect for the euro area on hicp inflation in the first half of 2002 of between 0 and 0. 2 percentage points. studies at the country level also point to limited overall effects, with some possible euro - induced price increases in certain sectors. for example, germany's federal statistical office, jointly working with the deutsche bundesbank, stated recently, that " the euro introduction has not had a considerable impact on the cost of living as a whole " ( ) in germany. while the effects may have varied across euro area countries and sectors, the overall impact of the cash changeover on the overall price level in the euro area has been contained. this evidence, however, contrasts sharply with the concerns and discussions in many euro area countries about the impact of euro cash on consumer prices. one reason for the gap between empirical findings and public opinion might be the fact that the general perception of price changes is more strongly influenced by the prices of small - ticket goods and services purchased on an almost " six months after the introduction of euro cash - an intermediate stock - taking in official price statistics ", destatis press release, 2 july 2002. daily basis. coincidentally, prices of some of these frequently purchased items, like tomatoes, petrol and tobacco products, went up, for the various reasons i have mentioned ( such as winter weather, oil prices and taxes ), at the same time as the introduction of euro banknotes and coins. although these price increases were unrelated to the cash changeover, many people have unfortunately associated them with the changeover. but it is important to realise that a complete picture can only be obtained by looking at a comprehensive measure of prices, including the prices of less frequent purchases. in fact, overall consumer price inflation has been around 2 % during recent months, a level which is very similar to that in december 2001, just before the introduction of the euro banknotes and coins. in addition, the price prospects for the coming months point to a rate of around 2 % in the euro area. over a longer period of time, the greater

transparency resulting from the introduction of the euro and the move to exclusive euro pricing will strengthen competition in the retail sector and contain price pressures in the euro area. these permanent benefits and efficiency gains from introducing the euro will far outweigh the generally very small changeover effects on inflation. concluding remarks let me sum up. the introduction of the euro banknotes and coins has been a major success which was made possible by the thorough preparations of all parties involved and the good reception by the public. the euro banknotes make visible the monetary union and the close financial integration of the twelve euro area countries. we are very satisfied that the banknotes were immediately accepted by the public in the euro area. and as the foreign demand for the euro banknotes shows, the euro is much sought after outside the euro area as well. finally, even though there have been effects on certain goods and services prices, the permanent benefits of the single currency and efficiency gains of introducing the euro will far exceed any short - term effects on inflation. ladies and gentlemen, i would like to thank you for your attention.