Using daily data for the euro area, the paper estimates demand equations for reserves held by commercial banks at the central bank. The presence of the expected overnight rate among the regressors allows to gauge the announcement effect, the ability by the central bank to influence the current...

The introduction of the euro notes and coins in the first two months of 2002 was followed by a lively debate on the alleged inflationary effects of the new currency. In Italy, as in the rest of the euro area, survey-based measures signaled a much sharper rise in inflation than measured by the...