Global growth getting better
AN ECONOMIC upturn is on the way, and economies should start growing more strongly in the next six months, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) leading indices, published yesterday.
Using indicators like business sentiment and job expectations to estimate economic growth in six months’ time, the study found positive figures in the US and Japan in December, pulling global growth upwards.
However, the index registered below-trend growth for the UK, holding steady at 98.7, and the Eurozone, which fell 0.2 to 98.3, and a slowdown in China, which saw its reading slide from 99.8 to 99.3.
A reading of 100 indicates trend-rate economic growth.
“The near-stabilisation for the UK in December ties in with recent indicators and survey evidence suggesting economic activity picked up around the turn of the year and boosts hopes the economy can avoid recession,” said economist Howard Archer from IHS Global Insight.
The OECD as a whole registered “a positive change in momentum”, hitting 100.4, up from 100.2 in November.