But in interest-rate-equivalent terms, we sanctioned an easing of some 3 percentage points between December 1996 and 1997. And how reasonable was the assessment in the Monetary Policy Statement we issued in December 1997?
In October that year, the World Economic Outlook published by the IMF projected that world economic growth would continue at above 4 per cent per annum for the balance of the decade. This projection was made in the knowledge of the emerging problems in Asia, but in the expectation that relatively robust growth would continue in the United States and Europe.