are considering the required measures that may lead to the growth of lending in line with the cyclical and structural needs of the economy. economic and monetary developments elaborated above yielded an environment of contained inflationary pressures. average annual inflation marked 3. 4 % in the third quarter. against a background of below - potential economic growth, and given the absence of monetary - related inflationary pressures, inflation was largely affected by the rise in administered prices. the contribution of the latter ’ s rise to headline inflation is 1 p. p. in the absence of second - round effects, the effect of the rise in administered prices is expected to be transitory, while the inflationary pressures arising from domestic demand remain well contained. on the other hand, the depreciation of the national currency has been declining, hence offsetting the rise of primary commodity prices in the world markets and the increase of inflation in albania ’ s main trading partners. the absence of inflationary pressures in the medium run and the contained fiscal policy provided room for pursuing a stimulating monetary policy that sustains economic activity. in july, the supervisory council of the bank of albania cut the key interest rate by 0. 25 p. p. bringing it to the historical low of 5. 00 %. in addition, the bank of albania continued to supply the banking system with the required liquidity in order to ensure the smooth operation of the money markets and to enhance financial intermediation in economy. the favourable liquidity situation facilitated the rapid transmission of the key interest rate cut to the interbank and the primary market, hence allowing for the reflection of this cut in other interest rates in the economy as well. the bank of albania considers that the inflationary pressures remain well contained all through the time frame of the monetary policy effect : the effect of supply - side factors is expected to be offset by the downward pressures arising from the performance of demand in economy. the projections for inflation and inflationary expectations remain well - anchored around the bank of albania ’ s target. therefore, the central bank considers that monetary conditions in economy are adequate to warrant the safeguard of price stability in the medium - run and to boost economic development further. the bank of albania will, in response to actual and expected economic and monetary developments, continue to pursue a prudent monetary policy, thus providing the required monetary conditions for achieving the inflation target and safeguarding macroeconomic stability.

offer additional stimulus. liquid financial markets are not the cure to the crisis, but they remain a necessary precondition to any solution. unconventional instruments are fast becoming a natural part of the policy toolkit of major central banks. central banks across emerging markets – including albania – are also exploring the possibility of employing unconventional instruments. however, it is not without risks and it might not be easily implemented in emerging economies. in particular, we believe emerging markets ’ central banks should avoid raising the risk profile of their balance sheets and should strive to preserve the credibility of their policy frameworks and independence. the second set of challenges is to acknowledge the long - term impact of the pandemic on our economies and societies, and to account for them in our policy frameworks. the spectrum of potential implications is wide but i will try to concentrate my remarks on a few items : the pandemic may drive a greater gap in terms of inequality, both among the advanced and developing economies as well as within an economy. an economic consequence of this pandemic is that it may slow down the catch - up process of developing economies relative to advanced ones. an additional one may be inequality within an economy, given that unemployment hits more the young population and those less educated. how these divergences may shape the future of social and economic policies aiming at addressing these divergences, this remains to be seen. the enforced limited social interaction due to the risk from coronavirus has accelerated the shift towards digital business and digital finance. while financial technology ( or fintech ) has been on the rise prior to this pandemic, the lockdown and limited social interaction has promoted further growth of this sector which may change the landscape of financial industry in the future. the pandemic may well trigger permanent shifts to the work - life balance. remote working can become a permanent option in the future as some global companies may have already predicted. a final issue, is how the pandemic may affect the current climate crisis in the long run. besides the short - term impact of the lockdown on the climate issue, an optimistic view holds that the lockdown may trigger e new momentum towards a cleaner economy. * * * honorable participants, i am looking forward to an open discussion and your fruitful feedback on these issues. 3 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches i am confident a frank exchange of ideas will enrich our joint understanding on the nature of challenges we are facing as well as on the best policies and instruments we should