In North America, however, the strength of the housing market has contributed to raising consumption levels in satisfactory market conditions. The forest products sector of the countries in transition of eastern Europe is now recovering from the deep recession of the early 1990s, but differences between national situations are becoming ever more marked. Production in Russia continues to fall, but more slowly than in previous years. For 1997, a weak recovery in demand for forest products is expected for Europe, and a continuation of present market conditions for North America and the countries in transition. The slight loosening of monetary policy does not offset the restrictive fiscal measures adopted in many countries.
Unemployment remains a major social and economic problem.
In the United States on the other hand, the economy is fairly strong, thanks in part to export growth and strong private consumption. In general, most east European transition economies showed satisfactory results in 1996, with rising domestic demand and falling inflation, and budget deficits coming under control. In Russia on the other hand, output has continued to fall, although at a slower rate than before and the considerable uncertainty about the outlook is hampering necessary investment. Inflation however has fallen to a record low. There are some signs of improvement in other CIS countries.