March 12, 2010, 22:44 CET
EMU, Monetary aggregates
The ECB requires extensive data on the money-issuing sector to be able to conduct a single monetary policy. The overall monetary surveys are one of the key ingredients in the decision-making process. These include the consolidated balance sheet of the euro-area monetary financial institutions (MFIs) sector, which is compiled by the ECB from the national contributions of the member states, and the money stock and its counterparts which are derived from this, the valuation of which is referred to as monetary analysis.
Apart from the information about the money-issuing sector, general economic indicators are also used to assess the euro area's economic situation. These include, in particular, real gross domestic product, industrial output, industrial capacity utilisation, the unemployment rate and the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices.
Monetary Aggregate M3, monthly changes
Overall monetary surveys
Consolidated balance sheet of the monetary financial institutions (MFIs)
The consolidated balance sheet shows the assets and liabilities of the monetary financial institutions which form the money-issuing sector of the euro area. First of all, separate sub-accounts are created for the Eurosystem and the “other MFIs” sector. The sub-account for the Eurosystem is also referred to as the consolidated financial statement of the Eurosystem. Data from the monthly balance sheet statistics of the Deutsche Bundesbank – as a monetary financial institution – are used for Germany’s contribution. Germany’s contribution to the sub-account of the other MFIs contains the reports for the balance sheet statistics submitted by credit institutions (including building and loan associations and money market funds).
The money stock and its counterparts
The monetary policy strategy of the Eurosystem attaches great importance to monetary developments. The monetary analysis examines developments in the monetary aggregates (M1, M2 and M3) and the balance sheet data which serve as their determinants. The analysis focuses on the growth in the money stock M3, for which a benchmark annual growth rate of 4.5% was set.
Seasonally adjusted data on monetary aggregates
In addition to unadjusted data, seasonally and calendar adjusted figures are offered. Adjusted figures are estimated using the Census X-12-ARIMA method, version 0.2.8. For details relating to the seasonal adjustment procedure see:
General economic indicators
Real gross domestic product
The real gross domestic product measures the production of goods and services after deducting intermediate goods within the borders of the euro-area countries, irrespective of whether the production was effected by residents of this economic territory or by cross-border commuters. Since the revision of the national accounts, the real figures have been calculated as a Laspeyres chain index at previous-year prices and are reported with the reference year 2000 = 100. The percentage changes of this index, which shows the economic development at constant prices (previous-year prices), are the central indicators for economic growth in the euro area. The GDP thus is the most important variable of the national accounts and is published both as a quarterly series and as an annual series.
More on this topic: method, time series
Industrial output
The production index measures the change of the volume of monthly output of manufacturing, mining and energy since the base year 2000.
Owing to its frequency, its ready availability and the detailed breakdown by economic sector, it is a central and current indicator of economic development.
The current monthly production indices are provisional and still contain estimates.
More on this topic: method, time series
Capacity utilisation in industry
The data on capacity utilisation (in percent) in manufacturing industry in the euro area are collected on a quarterly basis by the European Commission, Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs, as part of the monthly harmonised economic surveys in the European Union. National bodies/institutions carry out these surveys on behalf of the European Commission in all member states at various enterprises whose number is specific to the country. These survey data are weighted according to country-specific enterprise classifications and are condensed to a national weighted average.
The European Commission uses these national figures to calculate aggregates for the European Union and the euro area. In this case, the average country shares of the annual gross value added at constant 1995 prices for the European Union serve as the weighting schema.
More on this topic: method, time series
Unemployment rate
The standardised unemployment rate is the percentage share of unemployed persons among the civilian labour force (including military personnel living off-base). According to the criteria of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), persons between 15 and 74 years are counted as unemployed if they are without work, could start working within the next two weeks and have actively been looking for work in the previous four weeks. Civilian employed and unemployed persons are counted as the civilian labour force. The primary basis for the estimate of the monthly figure of unemployed persons and the unemployment rate are the figures from the quarterly labour force survey of the Community, an EU-wide standard household survey. These figures, together with existing country data, are made compatible for the calculation of the monthly standardised ("harmonised") unemployment rate, using different calculation methods (eg conversion of quarterly data to monthly data, estimates).
More on this topic: method, time series
Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices
Consumer price indices measure the average price change of all goods and services that are bought by households for consumption purposes for the respective reporting period compared with the base year. The Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices (HICP) of all member states of the euro area, which are calculated according to an EU-wide harmonised approach and standard definitions, enter into the Monetary Union Index of Consumer Prices (MUICP), which is calculated and published by the Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat). The coverage of the HICP is defined as the household final monetary consumption expenditure in accordance with the concepts of the European System of Accounts (ESA 95). The HICP are of the Laspeyres type and are calculated as chain indices with annually changing weights. The reference year is 2005 = 100. The Monetary Union Index of Consumer Prices (MUICP) is used by the Eurosystem primarly as a measure of inflation in the euro area.
More on this topic: method, time series
