and september, once the vat effect had disappeared. the twelve - month increase stood at 1. 5 % to 1. o % in november and the latest forecasts predict a price rise of close to 1. 5 % for the end of 1996. the twelve - month price increase thus resumed its pre - august 1995 trend and will be less than 2 % at the end of 1996, in line with the objective set by the monetary policy council. the objective of a stable external value of the french franc vis - a - vis the most credible currencies in the european exchange rate mechanism was met. since the beginning of 1996, the franc has continued to move gradually closer to its central rates against the other currencies in the european exchange rate mechanism. this firmness of the franc has gone hand in hand with the continuing overall competitiveness of the french economy. the real effective exchange rate of the french franc has improved and exports, as in previous years, helped to boost activity. the seasonally - adjusted current account surplus for the first nine months of 1996 stood at almost frf 84 billion. this was much greater than the frf 64 billion surplus posted for the same period of 1995. on the basis of current forecasts, france will record the third largest current account surplus in the world for 1996. growth in the m3 reference aggregate, which is the reference for our internal intermediate objective, showed a reversal in its trend. the expansion of m3 at the end of the third quarter of 1995 was close to its medium - term growth target path of 5 %, but subsequently slowed sharply. the twelve - month increase of 4 % in december 1995 gave way to a contraction of 0. 4 % in october 1996, the last month for which figures are available. this reversal in the growth of m3 was to a very great extent the result of a large - scale reallocation of investment flows stemming from the fall in short - term interest rates since autumn 1995, which has been of unprecedented magnitude and rapidity. the m3 - m2 aggregate, which includes assets paying money market rates of interest, posted a twelve - month fall of 10. 1 % at the end of october 1996. in response to the fall in short - term interest rates and also a heavier tax burden on money market mutual funds, economic agents reallocated their portfolios towards assets covered by the investment aggregates, and particularly the pl aggregate covering contractual savings products, including housing saving plans. year - on -

rapidly to fight inflation. in a world of spillovers and global linkages, all of us have our unique responsibilities. at the federal reserve, we are responsible for getting u. s. inflation down to our target. and in doing so, we are aware that we are affected by and have effects on the world around us. conferences like this one help to explore and understand our common interests and common connections and to spark ideas for addressing the challenges that confront all of us. thank you. references ahmed, shaghil, ozge akinci, and albert queralto ( 2021 ). " u. s. monetary policy spillovers to emerging markets : both shocks and vulnerabilities matter, " international finance discussion papers 1321. washington : board of governors of the federal reserve system, july. ammer, john, michiel de pooter, christopher erceg, and steven kamin ( 2016 ). " international spillovers of monetary policy, " ifdp notes. washington : board of governors of the federal reserve system, february 8. caldara, dario, francesco ferrante, matteo iacoviello, andrea prestipino, and albert queralto ( 2023 ). " the international spillovers of synchronous monetary tightening, " paper presented at the 100th carnegie - rochester - nyu conference on public policy, held at the university of rochester, rochester, n. y., april 29. 5 / 6 bis - central bankers'speeches curcuru, stephanie e., michiel de pooter, and george eckerd ( 2018 ). " measuring monetary policy spillovers between u. s. and german bond yields, " international finance discussion papers 1226. washington : board of governors of the federal reserve system, april. hoek, jasper, steve kamin, and emre yoldas ( 2022 ). " are higher u. s. interest rates always bad news for emerging markets? " journal of international economics, vol. 137 ( july ), 103585. iacoviello, matteo, and gaston navarro ( 2019 ). " foreign effects of higher u. s. interest rates, " journal of international money and finance, vol. 95 ( july ), pp. 232 – 50. rey, helene ( 2013 ). " dilemma not trilemma : the global financial cycle and monetary policy independence ( pdf ), " paper presented at " global dimensions of unconventional monetary