familiar to many of us, as our intuition may suggest, but studies show that, even in advanced countries, only a few people are capable of distinguishing the images featured on each banknote. in order to strengthen the emotional relationship between the public and banknotes – part of our national identity – in the following days, the bank of albania will engage in an intensive campaign to introduce the new series of banknotes. the campaign, which starts today, will focus on helping the public become familiar with the new design. detailed information will be provided on the security features used in each of the denominations and on ways to identify them. promotion will be made for how to keep and care for banknotes with a view to increasing their lifespan. last but not least, information will provided for how to read the messages that are artfully transmitted through the banknotes design, to boost our national awareness. in conclusion, i am grateful for the excellent work that has been done on the new series and look forward to its success. only the public can measure the degree of success and our goal is to provide the public with elements and emotions related to our national identity, through a worthy banknote series, created by renowned brands in the banknote production industry such as g & d, de la rue and oberthur, whose logos have been present on our currency since it was first issued. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches

underlying inflation in the four quarters to the december quarter 2004 was 1½ per cent. at our june meeting we had raised it to 2 per cent. in the event, it came in at 2¼ per cent, while the headline figure was 2. 6 per cent. some of this was due to the increase in the oil price, but some of it was more general, as indicated by the fact that the december quarter cpi came in above all forecasters'estimates. overall, the inflation outcome to date is still a good result given the pressures we are now starting to see around us, but looking over a longer period it seems that inflation has now reached a trough and is showing signs of turning up. at earlier stages of production, there has been a noticeable pick - up in prices between the first half of 2004 and the second half. table 2 producer prices ( excluding oil ) 2004 i 2004 ii preliminary 2. 5 6. 0 intermediate 1. 6 5. 1 final 2. 7 4. 7 looking ahead, we forecast gradual rises in underlying inflation, with it reaching 2½ per cent by end 2005 and 3 per cent by end 2006. like all forecasts, they are smoother than reality will probably turn out to be, and they are subject to risks. our assessment is that the risks are more likely to be on the upside, as we do not see any obvious downward source of risk unless there was a sharp weakening in the world economy, an eventuality on which we would place a low probability. i suppose you could conclude that this combination of weaker - than - expected gdp growth and higher - than - expected inflation is a disappointing situation. but while less than ideal, the figures i have quoted are still pretty good for this stage of an expansion. our feeling is that we – that is, policy makers and the public – will have to realise that there comes a time when we have to accept some moderation in growth in order to prevent the build - up in the sort of imbalances that have got us into trouble in the past.