beginning of the current purchase program in 2012, we have purchased nearly $ 75 billion in mbs on average per month, including reinvestments. this translates into about 50 percent of monthly gross issuance, below the monthly purchase rate of roughly two - thirds during the first round of large - scale mbs purchases in 2009. if refinancing activity declines, leading to a decrease in gross issuance, our purchases could exceed these levels. of course, the pace of asset purchases is not strictly limited by the amount of new mortgage origination, as market participants can also deliver older securities into tba contracts. as the pace of mbs issuance evolves, the desk will continue to watch the market functioning indicators discussed above, with a particular emphasis on the market ’ s ability to settle further purchases. conclusion overall, i believe the desk has effectively and efficiently carried out the fomc ’ s directive to purchase additional treasury securities and agency mbs in a transparent fashion that achieves the fomc ’ s policy objectives, supports orderly market functioning, and obtains competitive market prices. i also believe that the federal reserve ’ s balance sheet policies have been effective in easing financial conditions, particularly with respect to making historically low borrowing costs available to existing and prospective american homeowners, as well as lowering interest rates to spur business investment and household spending. to achieve our policy mandate, we rely on your continued ongoing and active participation in our operations both for your own accounts and for the accounts of your customers, consistent with your role as primary dealers. we will continue to implement the fomc ’ s the desk also purchases dollar roll contracts when implied financing rates are sufficiently positive. such operations occurred in december 2011. see tmpg best practices. selling dollar rolls when concerns arise about the availability of certain tba contracts is conceptually similar to making soma treasury holdings available to the market through our securities lending program. one key difference is that the desk offers settled treasury holdings to the market through its securities lending program, whereas the desk only rolls unsettled mbs holdings. bis central bankers ’ speeches directive, with the goal of supporting a stronger economic recovery in the context of price stability. references fleming, michael ( 2000 ). “ the benchmark u. s. treasury market : recent performance and possible alternatives. ” federal reserve bank of new york economic policy review, vol. 6, no. 1 ( april ) : 129 – 45. fleming, michael ( 2002 ). “

is solid in countries like france, finland and ireland. germany has a large internationally exposed industrial sector, which is feeling the effects of the slowdown in growth in the us and asia. in a survey, growth forecasts for germany have been revised downwards this year from 3 per cent a few months ago to a good 2 per cent. economic growth prospects for sweden and the uk are also weaker than a few months ago. however, the easing of monetary and fiscal policy in many countries should contribute to a pick - up in growth and reduce the risk of a pronounced international downturn. the norwegian economy will be particularly hard hit by an international downturn if this translates into a sharp fall in oil prices and other commodity prices that are important for norwegian exports. this would lead to lower export revenues and slower growth. employment would also be affected. an international downturn would also lead to lower prices for imported goods and services and thereby reduce domestic inflation. if other nordic countries are negatively affected, this will have an impact on the supply of labour in norway since the nordic labour market has become increasingly integrated. continued pressures in the norwegian economy consensus forecasts. available labour resources are limited in the norwegian economy. the labour force participation rate is high. vacancies are numerous, particularly in the health sector, schools and the construction industry due to a shortage of teachers, nurses, dentists and construction workers. extensive use of disability and sickness benefits is limiting the supply of labour. reforms such as contractual pension schemes, which were stepped up through the 1990s, cash allowances for families with small children and an increased number of vacation days this year and next also contribute to reducing the effective labour supply. the country as a whole is experiencing labour shortages, but the differences between regions and industries are considerable. in eastern norway, where service industries are very important, unemployment has declined the last year. from 1998 to 2000 alone, employment in private services rose by 26 000 nationwide. in southern and western norway, unemployment rose last year, largely reflecting the decline in manufacturing employment since the beginning of 1999. unemployment has declined again recently. employment in the public sector has also increased markedly in recent years. over the last 30 years, the public sector and private services have laid claim to an increasing share of labour resources in norway, a trend that will probably continue. the tight labour market reflects a high activity level in the norwegian economy. the mainland economy is experiencing an upturn, but growth is low. growth in private consumption has been moderate the