At the end of 1998, the National Bank had announced that it would continue implementing a basically generous monetary policy in 1999. In the wake of the problems in East Asia and the anticipated slowdown in growth in the United States it expected economic activity in Western Europe to weaken. For Switzerland, it forecast real economic growth of 1.5% and a rise in inflation to 1%. Furthermore, it indicated that with its planned monetary policy it also intended to take account of the uncertainties associated with the introduction of the euro.
