Inventories of high-tech products overall have probably been reduced a bit, but a period of substantial liquidation of stocks still seemingly lies ahead for these products. For all inventories, the rate of liquidation appears to have been especially pronounced this winter, and the available data suggest that it continued, though perhaps at a more moderate pace, this spring.
Meanwhile, housing investment, which is in a generally favorable environment including low interest rates, is expected to recover somewhat in the second half of fiscal 1997, although it has recently been weak reflecting the reaction to the surge in demand ahead of the consumption tax hike. 4.