Global imbalances
The size of global current-account imbalances narrowed slightly in 2014 as their pattern remained largely unchanged (figure I.8). The sum of the absolute values of current-account balances is estimated at about 3.5 per cent of WGP, down from a peak of 5.6 per cent in 2006. 9 A significant part of this narrowing appears to be driven by weaker demand in many economies since the global financial crisis along with a decline in potential output. 10 Moreover, several of the major contributors to the pre-crisis imbalances, including China and Japan on the surplus side and the United States and the euro area’s peripheral countries on the deficit side, have seen structural shifts that tended to push their economies towards external balance.