mario draghi : euro area economic outlook, the ecb ’ s monetary policy and current policy challenges statement by mr mario draghi, president of the european central bank, prepared for the twenty - eighth meeting of the international monetary and financial committee, washington dc, 12 october 2013. * * * i would like to focus on the euro area economic outlook, the ecb ’ s monetary policy and current policy challenges. economic activity in the euro area bottomed out in the first half of the year and is expected to strengthen gradually in the period ahead. recent economic indicators, which have been predominantly positive, support expectations of a modest and gradual recovery. output is expected to recover at a slow pace, driven by a gradual improvement in domestic demand supported by the ecb ’ s accommodative monetary policy stance and a gradual strengthening of external demand. furthermore, the improvements in financial markets seen since august 2012 appear to be gradually working their way through to the real economy, as should the progress made in fiscal consolidation. the risks surrounding the economic outlook for the euro area continue to be on the downside. developments in global money and financial market conditions and related uncertainties may have the potential to negatively affect the economic outlook. other downside risks include higher commodity prices in the context of renewed geopolitical tensions, weaker than expected global demand and slow or insufficient implementation of structural reforms in euro area countries. underlying price pressures in the euro area are expected to remain subdued, reflecting the broad - based weakness in aggregate demand and the modest pace of the recovery, as well as subdued monetary and credit dynamics. medium to long - term inflation expectations continue to be firmly anchored in line with price stability. the risks to the outlook for price developments are expected to be still broadly balanced over the medium term, with upside risks relating in particular to higher commodity prices as well as stronger than expected increases in administered prices and indirect taxes, and downside risks stemming from weaker than expected economic activity. the ecb ’ s monetary policy stance continues to be geared towards maintaining the degree of monetary accommodation warranted by the outlook for price stability. it thereby provides support to a gradual recovery in economic activity. looking ahead, our monetary policy stance will remain accommodative for as long as necessary. in line with the guidance provided in july, the governing council expects the key ecb interest rates to remain at present or lower levels for an extended period of time. this expectation is based on an overall subdued outlook for inflation extending into the

these changes in our coins? if we were to produce the same quantity of our current coins, it would have cost us about eight million fiji dollars more. we save five million dollars by not minting the one and two cents coins and a further three million dollars by reducing the size, weight and metallic composition. these savings will also apply when we re - order these coins in future. hence, if we assume that we will not change these coins in another forty years, these savings can amount to over 100 million dollars. savings in handling, transportation and storage the benefits and savings do not end there. due to the significant reduction in size and weight of these new coins, individuals and businesses will save substantial costs in terms of transportation, handling and storage. assistance for the visually impaired some have expressed concerns that the visually impaired will find it more difficult to differentiate the value of the new coins. but, as we did in the new currency notes, we have taken into account the needs of those of us that are visually impaired. for the first time, we have introduced the varied edge designs. these will serve as an effective identification and differentiating feature for the visually impaired as well as for the general public. coins can now be differentiated not only by size but also by their edgings. different coins will have different edgings. this will help greatly when the coins are about the same size. the five cents coin will now have a plain edge while the ten ( 10 ) cents will have the serrated or rough edge. the twenty ( 20 ) cents being the closest in size to the ten ( 10 ) cents will have intermitted serrations. designs let me turn briefly to the designs on the coins. when we changed our currency notes we also changed their designs. however, for our new coins, we have retained the existing designs both on the front and back. why? we think the current designs are still relevant and appropriate. they reflect directly on our culture and heritage. in addition, leaving the designs unchanged makes the change to the new coins much easier. they make the new coins easier to identify. multi - ply technology and metal composition the metal composition of our coins is now different. our new coins are manufactured by royal canadian mint in “ multi - ply ” layers. multi - ply technology is patented by royal canadian mint and offers greater security, reliability and durability at reduced minting costs. multi - ply technology gives the coins unique electromagnetic signatures ( ems )