that determine the trend change in prices. as a measure to prompt an improvement in the aggregate supply and demand balance, in terms of interest rates, the bank has kept the policy rate at the effectively zero level. to encourage a further decline in longer - term interest rates in the money market, the bank introduced in december 2009 a new funds - supplying operation, through which funds with a maturity of three months are provided at an extremely low interest rate of 0. 1 percent, and the total amount of loans to be provided through this operation was set at approximately 10 trillion yen. the total amount of loans was increased to 20 trillion yen in march 2010. in terms of funds provision, the bank has been providing ample funds through various fundssupplying operations, including the new operation. furthermore, the bank has made its stance clear that it will consistently maintain the extremely accommodative financial environment. as for inflation expectations, the other determinant of prices, the bank has, to prevent people ’ s expectations for prices from declining, clearly showed its stance, in the form of the “ understanding of medium - to long - term price stability, ” that it is critical to achieve a positive year - on - year rate of changes in the cpi. to overcome deflation and achieve a sustainable economic growth with price stability, the bank will continue to consistently make contributions as central bank.

although many small firms still see their financial positions as weak, the overall financial positions of firms, including small ones, have continued to show signs of easing. the cpi ( excluding fresh food ) is declining on a year - on - year basis due to the substantial slack in the economy as a whole, but the decline leveled out in august 2009 and the moderating trend of decline has continued. the outlook for the trend change in prices is determined by the aggregate supply and demand balance and the medium - to long - term inflation expectations. it should be noted that, statistically, the year - on - year rate of change in the cpi will decline for a year due to the introduction of subsidies for high school tuition and other policy measures in fiscal 2010, but in assessing the trend change in prices, it is necessary to exclude such one - off factors. in terms of the trend change in prices, with medium - to long - term inflation expectations likely to be stable, the year - on - year rate of decline in the cpi ( excluding fresh food ) is expected to continue to moderate as the aggregate supply and demand balance improves gradually. while i have thus far explained the baseline scenario for economic activity and prices, the bank is also fully aware of the risks concerning such scenario. upside risks to the scenario are developments in emerging and commodity - exporting economies. the robust growth of emerging and commodity - exporting economies has driven the pick - up of japan ’ s economy. if the growth in those economies further accelerates, it will pose an upside risk to economic activity in japan. meanwhile, downside risks, although somewhat diminished, include the possible consequences of balance - sheet adjustments in the united states and europe as well as potential changes in firms ’ medium - to long - term growth expectations. moreover, attention should continue to be paid to various recent international financial developments and their effects. with regard to prices, there is a risk that inflation will rise more than expected in the event of a rise in commodity prices due to higher growth rates in emerging and commodity - exporting economies. on the other hand, there is also a risk that the rate of inflation might decline due, for example, to a decline in medium - to long - term inflation expectations. ii. conduct of monetary policy the bank recognizes that japan ’ s economy is faced with a critical challenge of overcoming deflation and returning to a sustainable growth path with price stability. therefore, the bank has been implementing various measures, taking into account the two factors