skills and experience in the first place – developments that could significantly reduce their productivity and earnings in the longer term. the loss of output and earnings associated with high unemployment also reduces government revenues and increases spending, thereby leading to larger deficits and higher levels of debt. the recent increase in gasoline prices, which reflects both higher crude oil prices and wider refining margins, is hitting family budgets. however, overall inflation remains low. over the second half of 2012, the price index for personal consumption expenditures rose at an annual rate of 1 - 1 / 2 percent, similar to the rate of increase in the first half of the year. measures of longer - term inflation expectations have remained in the narrow ranges seen over the past several years. against this backdrop, the federal open market committee data for the fourth quarter of 2012 from the national income and product accounts reflect the advance estimate released on january 30, 2013. bis central bankers ’ speeches ( fomc ) anticipates that inflation over the medium term likely will run at or below its 2 percent objective. monetary policy with unemployment well above normal levels and inflation subdued, progress toward the federal reserve ’ s mandated objectives of maximum employment and price stability has required a highly accommodative monetary policy. under normal circumstances, policy accommodation would be provided through reductions in the fomc ’ s target for the federal funds rate – the interest rate on overnight loans between banks. however, as this rate has been close to zero since december 2008, the federal reserve has had to use alternative policy tools. these alternative tools have fallen into two categories. the first is “ forward guidance ” regarding the fomc ’ s anticipated path for the federal funds rate. since longer - term interest rates reflect market expectations for shorter - term rates over time, our guidance influences longer - term rates and thus supports a stronger recovery. the formulation of this guidance has evolved over time. between august 2011 and december 2012, the committee used calendar dates to indicate how long it expected economic conditions to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate. at its december 2012 meeting, the fomc agreed to shift to providing more explicit guidance on how it expects the policy rate to respond to economic developments. specifically, the december postmeeting statement indicated that the current exceptionally low range for the federal funds rate “ will be appropriate at least as long as the unemployment rate remains above 6 - 1 / 2 percent, inflation between one and two years ahead is projected to be no more than a half percentage

and react to policy makers ’ messages. thus, the supportive polices undertaken will become more effective and support more strongly the mitigation of negative shocks. being aware and making the right financial selections, everyone – banks, institutions, enterprises, households and individuals – may play an important role in dealing with the consequences of extraordinary situations that the world is suffering. this educational campaign of global money week is an excellent event to recall certain messages that the bank of albania has addressed extensively, turning them into an important part of its efforts for meeting the objectives and preserving the economic and financial stability. i would like to point out three main messages, which nowadays, due to the geopolitical and financial situation become more meaningful. first, i would like to emphasise the importance of using the national currency against foreign currencies. lek plays a crucial and direct role in transmitting the positive effects of monetary policy to our economy. the higher the use of lek, the bigger is the part of economy which feels the effects of the central bank ’ s policies. furthermore, the use of the national currency helps to amortise the shocks that steam from external sector through minimising the shocks on income, consumption and investments. the broad use of foreign currencies alongside the national one has important negative impacts, on both the effectiveness of economic policies and financial stability. particularly, in this period, while global developments, ambiguity and the change in monetary policy stance may give rise to additional risks to the exchange rate. these risks destabilise and expose the balance sheets of private sector against the fluctuations of the exchange rate. in simple words, the less you use the foreign currency ; the lower is the exposure to the exchange rate risk, which nowadays is even higher. the stability of financial institutions, enterprises and households contributes in the monetary policy pass through and macroeconomic stability. second, i would like to re - emphasise the importance of growing and promoting financial literacy as a counter - response to informality. this objective belongs to the central banks, and to all economic agents, educational institutions and media, to enhancing financial awareness and ability of public. these joint efforts, in addition to strengthening the monetary policy effectiveness, directly affect the financial inclusions of population. it means that : an increase in the number of users of safer financial products and services and at low cost drives to an increased access in financial sources, and consequently the growth of possibilities, income, and the quality of life. formal markets are the sole possibility