The seasonally-adjusted monetary base rose by 1.1% in 2000, thus growing less markedly than in the previous year (2.4%). Banknote circulation, which comprises roughly 90% of the monetary base, increased by 2.4%. At the same time, the banks' sight deposits at the National Bank fell by 12%. The decline in demand for sight deposits was due largely to the introduction of intraday liquidity. The fluctuations of sight deposits, which were considerably stronger than in the previous year, reflect mainly the transition from the steering of sight deposits to the steering of interest rates.
