Balance-of-payments disequilibria have become more pronounced. While current account surpluses are widely distributed, the deficit is concentrated in the United States, where it has reached nearly 2 per cent of world GDP, a record high.
A rise in the US domestic saving rate, a recovery in growth in Europe and Japan and an acceleration in domestic demand in China and the oil-producing countries may lessen the danger that the inevitable correction of the disequilibria will come about by means of disorderly changes in exchange rates.