While the Fund has forecast very modest positive growth at the global level for next year, the recovery may be rather gradual. On the other hand, global inflationary pressures have moderated significantly since the middle of last year. The euro area headline rate was 4 per cent as recently as last July but has now fallen to below 1 per cent.
The events in Europe, which revealed that, while there are no doubts about the benefits of monetary unions, under certain circumstances they can put serious constraints on countries, on the other hand may harbour even broader implications. Countries in the SADC region will probably carefully monitor the situation in Europe to reassess the admittance criteria and control measures for a future SADC monetary union.