Because the regional economy is exceptionally weak. That will continue to be the case so long as the Japanese economy does not grow, and as long as the region's economies are in crisis together. The US is doing extraordinary well, far better for far longer than anybody expected. The prospects are for continuing growth in 1999. Everybody expects it to come down just because it can't go on at the rate it's going on right now.
European prospects are less certain.
Europe slowed down at the end of 1998, but there is ample room if the slowdown looks like more than a one-quarter event for monetary policy to ease in Europe and to help ease any slowdown which must happen. It's reasonable that your exports to those areas will continue. There's a lot of emphasis on commodity price deflation. But for oil importers, the commodity price movements are not all bad news. Many economies in the region have benefitted from the fact that oil prices have declined so far.