The world economy continues to face strong deflationary pressures at the present time. Whilst growth has remained above trend levels in North America, the Japanese economy has sunk further into recession, and there are increasing signs of an economic slowdown in Europe. Overall we expect GDP growth in the OECD economies to slow to around 1.8 per cent this year, from an estimated 2.4 per cent in 1998. Global demand as a whole remains relatively weak, with the growth in the volume of world merchandise trade estimated to have halved last year to around 5 per cent and projected to fall further to between 4-4½ per cent this year. Trade in Asia is estimated to have declined by 7½ per cent last year, with potentially serious consequences for growth prospects in economies such as China, Hong Kong and Singapore that have become increasingly affected by the regional economic downturn.