Nineteenth Report on the Activities of the Monetary Committee.

Abstract

1977 saw a slowdown in the expansion of worldeconomic activity. All the major industrialized countrieswere affected, although to differing degrees, and inter-national trade suffered as a result: from one year toanother their rate of growth by volume diminished byalmost half. Balance of payments disequilibria persistedbut unequally: the deficit of the non-oil-producing de-veloping countries diminished, as did the OPEC sur-plus; the deficit of the Community was also greatlyreduced. On the other hand, a new disequilibriumnamely a considerable worsening of the US deficitmade itself increasingly felt in the course of the year.