In Q4 2021, economic activity slowed in Europe, particularly in France and Italy, while in Germany it even fell back. This slowdown suggests fewer catch-up effects after the dynamism of activity in the previous quarter, while new waves of the epidemic, linked to the Delta and Omicron variants, have affected household consumption, notably in Germany. Most of the main European countries have nevertheless returned to their level of activity in Q4 2019, with the exception of Spain, which is still well below this level. In addition, after a sluggish Q3, GDP bounced back in the United States, Japan, China and several of the emerging economies, hence stimulating the recovery of world trade. In fact, world trade in goods and services accelerated significantly in Q4 2021 (+2.3% after +0.9%), despite continuing supply chain difficulties. In particular, the buoyancy of imports combined with less vigorous domestic demand meant that the United States and the Eurozone countries were able to reconstitute part of their inventories...