In the very short run the money supply is normally predetermined by the past history of international payments flows. If the central bank is maintaining an exchange rate that is consistent with a balance of payments surplus, over time money will flow into the country and the money supply will rise (and vice versa for a payments deficit). If the central bank were to conduct open market operations in the domestic bond market in order to offset these balance-of-payments-induced changes in the money supply — a process called sterilization – it would absorb newly arrived money by decreasing its holdings of domestic bonds (or the opposite if money were flowing out of the country). But under perfect capital mobility, any such sterilization would be met by further offsetting international flows.