Decline of global economies shows signs of easing
The world’s major economies are continuing to head for a deep slowdown, but the pace of decline is easing in some countries, research claimed today.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said its composite leading indicators index, which is designed to provide early signals of turning points in business cycles, continued to point to a deep slowdown for all of the seven major economies, including the UK.
But it said some “tentative signs of improvement” in the rate of deterioration were appearing in some countries, including Italy and France, although it added the emphasis on 'tentative' could not be overstated.
The OECD said: “The picture for all countries remains weak, with the outlook in the United States, Canada, Japan and the major non-OECD member economies in particular, further deteriorating since last month.”
Brazil saw the sharpest deterioration month-on-month, with its score under the index dropping by 2.4 points in February, while Russia suffered a 1.9 point decline and Japan and the United States were 1.5 points and 1.1 points lower respectively.
But Italy’s score improved marginally, rising by 0.4 points during February, while France edged ahead by 0.1 point, and the UK fell by only 0.2 points.
Year-on-Year the UK’s score was 6.6 points lower, while France and Italy were down 4.7 points and 4.1 points respectively.
Russia was the biggest annual faller, losing 19.7 points during the year to the end of February, with China, Brazil and Germany all falling by more than 12 points, and the Unites States dropping by 11.8 points.
