Chapter II. The World Overseas

Extract

The prospects for world production and trade are much the same as they were in February. The outlook is rather brighter in the United States, where production is rising and investment plans have been increased, but, in spite of some rise in commodity prices, perhaps fractionally gloomier for the primary producing countries, many of whose imports have been falling. World trade should be in fair equilibrium this year without any major change in the size of most countries' export surpluses; but the equilibrium will be achieved at a lower overall growth rate than would be possible if reserves were larger and better distributed.