mario draghi : ecb press conference – introductory statement introductory statement by mr mario draghi, president of the european central bank, frankfurt am main, 15 april 2015. * * * ladies and gentlemen, the vice - president and i are very pleased to welcome you to our press conference. based on our regular economic and monetary analyses, and in line with our forward guidance, we decided to keep the key ecb interest rates unchanged. as regards non - standard monetary policy measures, on 9 march we started purchasing euro - denominated public sector securities as part of our expanded asset purchase programme, which also comprises purchases of asset - backed securities and covered bonds. purchases are intended to run until the end of september 2016 and, in any case, until we see a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation that is consistent with our aim of achieving inflation rates below, but close to, 2 % over the medium term. when carrying out its assessment, the governing council will follow its monetary policy strategy and concentrate on trends in inflation, looking through unexpected outcomes in measured inflation in either direction if judged to be transient and to have no implication for the medium - term outlook for price stability. the implementation of our asset purchase programmes is proceeding smoothly, with volumes in line with the announced figure of €60 billion of securities per month. in addition, there is clear evidence that the monetary policy measures we have put in place are effective. financial market conditions and the cost of external finance for the private sector have eased considerably over the past months and borrowing conditions for firms and households have improved notably, with a pick - up in the demand for credit. looking ahead, our focus will be on the full implementation of our monetary policy measures. through these measures, we will contribute to a further improvement in the economic outlook, a reduction in economic slack and a recovery in money and credit growth. together, such developments will lead to a sustained return of inflation towards a level below, but close to, 2 % over the medium term and will underpin the firm anchoring of medium to long - term inflation expectations. let me now explain our assessment in greater detail, starting with the economic analysis. real gdp in the euro area rose by 0. 3 %, quarter on quarter, in the last quarter of 2014. domestic demand, especially private consumption, continued to be the main driver behind the ongoing recovery. the latest economic indicators, including survey data up to march, suggest that the euro area economy has gained further momentum since the end of

loi m bakani : commodity and food prices, inflation and monetary policy in papua new guinea presentation by mr loi m bakani, governor of the bank of papua new guinea, to the national research institute food security policy conference on “ high food prices in papua new guinea ”, port moresby, 6 september 2011. * * * i wish to express my gratitude to the national research institute for arranging this conference on food prices in papua new guinea and for inviting me here today to make a presentation. i would also like to thank other policy makers and specialists working in this crucial field. today i will be discussing global commodity and food prices, how this has affected inflation in papua new guinea, and how the bank of papua new guinea has responded to these issues. international commodity price boom since 2004, global commodity prices have increased substantially, largely due to increased demand in resource - intensive emerging economies such as china, which has outstripped global supply. other factors have supported this boom, including low interest rates, a weaker us dollar, and arguably some speculation. international food prices increased at a slower pace during this period until they surged in 2007 and again in 2010, largely due to supply constraints. prices indices of food and png's exports ( usd ) international food price png mineral export price png non - mineral export price q 20 1 q 20 3 q 20 1 q 20 3 q 20 1 q 20 3 q 20 1 q 20 3 q 20 1 q 20 3 q 20 1 q 20 3 q 20 1 q 20 3 q source : food and agriculture organization, bank of png. the commodity price boom has had numerous positive benefits for the png economy. first, due to increased mining and petroleum export revenues, the government has been able to reduce its external debt, allowing for more stable financing of the budget and external position. moreover, with stable government financing, there has been no central bank financing of the government ’ s budget, which historically has led to high inflation and exchange rate depreciation. additionally, the increased export prices have contributed to high gdp growth, while higher non - mineral export prices have increased incomes and bis central bankers ’ speeches employment. because of these factors, the bank of png has been able to increase its international reserves, while the kina exchange rate has appreciated mildly and been broadly stable. impact on inflation in png these factors have changed the nature of inflation in png in recent years. historically, inflation was relatively stable up