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Abstract
The year 1961 witnessed an easing of some of the more important payments problems which the world was facing at the end of 1960, but developments during the year had rather mixed consequences. Some factors tended to increase the imbalance in international payments; among them were the influence on imports and exports of the divergent trends of activity in various industrial countries—in particular, the greater rate of economic expansion in the United States than elsewhere. Other influences had the opposite effect; among these were, notably, changes in relative costs and some actions of national monetary authorities, including significant steps toward greater international coordination of monetary policy. For the less industrialized countries, the year was again one of difficulty. There were scarcely any increases in the prices of primary products; on the average these prices declined slightly, and the fall in some was substantial. It was also noticeable that, while only a small number of countries were faced with serious inflationary pressures, the strong stand against inflation taken by most of the less industrialized countries in recent years showed signs of being relaxed.
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